Tam Hunt interviews Prof. Morgan Levine about her work with epigenetics and aging.

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One of the biggest breakthroughs in biology in the last few decades has been the discovery of epigenetics. Rather than changing the genes themselves, epigenetics change how genes are expressed, allowing our cells to differentiate between their various types.

However, the epigenetics of our cells change over time. There is some debate over how much epigenetic alterations are a cause or a consequence of other age-related damage, but they are one of the primary hallmarks of aging.

Multiple “epigenetic clocks” have been developed over the last decade. These clocks are now displaying an uncanny ability to determine biological age, and Steve Horvath’s GrimAge can predict, with limited accuracy, how much longer a human has to live!