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🔬TODAY’S BREAKTHROUGH
A new perspective warns that DNA methylation clocks, popular for testing longevity therapies, may mix up harmful and beneficial changes, risking deceptive results.
The Discovery:
Epigenetic clocks are widely used as fast markers of biological age. But this paper argues that many clocks cannot separate Type 1 methylation changes (self-destructive aging programs) from Type 2 changes (protective repair responses). Reversing both together could make an intervention look rejuvenating while actually suppressing the body’s repair defenses.
The Science:
Type 1 changes: Programmed pro-aging shifts, like increased inflammation or reduced repair, shorten life if left unchecked.
Type 2 changes: Adaptive responses to accumulated damage, such as ramped-up repair pathways, are beneficial.
Clock paradox: If a therapy reduces Type 2 signals, the clock may read “younger,” but actual resilience may decline.
Stochastic drift: Attempts to build clocks from random methylation “noise” found weak correlations with aging, suggesting most changes are directed.
Call to action: Future clocks should distinguish and weight Type 1 vs. Type 2 sites separately, or risk misleading conclusions about anti-aging interventions.
Your Action:
When evaluating claims about anti-aging therapies that “reverse epigenetic age,” check which clock was used and whether it captures true rejuvenation or just dampens repair.
Stay focused on proven levers, exercise, sleep, stress management, and nutrition, that support both repair and resilience.
Bottom Line:
Without separating harmful from protective methylation changes, epigenetic clocks may show rejuvenation where none exists.
Source:
Methylation clocks for evaluation of anti-aging interventions. Aging. Mitteldorf J.
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206245
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