Scientists discover two key ages when human ageing accelerates
Human ageing occurs in two significant ages at the molecular level in a person’s lifetime, first at age 44, and again at 60, according to a recent study.
Contrary to the common belief that ageing is a gradual process, researchers found that most of the molecules they examined, including RNA, proteins, and microbiomes, undergo accelerated, non-linear changes during these two key stages of life.
The study, conducted by scientists from Stanford University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, was published in the journal Nature Aging. It involved tracking 108 participants over several years to monitor molecular changes associated with ageing. The findings reveal that these accelerated bursts of ageing are not evenly spread across a person’s lifespan, but rather concentrated around these specific ages.
In total, the study analyzed 135,239 biological features, generating a staggering 246.5 billion data points. The average participant was monitored for 626 days and contributed 47 samples, allowing researchers to create a detailed picture of how molecular changes progress over time. One participant was particularly deeply monitored over 6.8 years, contributing 367 samples, which offered a unique, in-depth view of ageing-related changes.
“135,239 biological features (including 10,346 transcripts, 302 proteins, 814 metabolites, 66 cytokines, 51 clinical laboratory tests, 846 lipids, 52,460 gut microbiome taxons, 8,947 skin microbiome taxons, 8,947 oral microbiome taxons and 52,460 nasal microbiome taxons) were acquired, resulting in 246,507,456,400 data points. The average sampling period and number of samples for each participant were 626 days and 47 samples, respectively,” the study report read in part.
The participants, 51.9% of whom were female, provided a wide range of biological samples, including blood, stool, skin swabs, oral swabs, and nasal swabs.
