Chronological Age vs Biological Age: Can Aging be Reversed? Blog post by Jasmin Skinner While our chronological age is on a fixed trajectory, biological age is a far more variable determination of health. Two individuals could be born simultaneously, but their bodies and subsequently, their cells, could be vastly different in age due to a variety of life circumstances. Disease, drug treatment, lifestyle changes, and environmental exposures have all been observed to influence biological age, however, these changes are not absolute (1,2). Interest in the malleability of biological age has been increasing as the technology and information capable of measuring biological age have improved substantially (3,4). Additionally, as human longevity has been steadily increasing since the turn of the last century, understanding the mechanisms behind age-related illnesses has become an increasingly significant public health dilemma (2,3). Having a simplified summary of ones current health status could prove extremely beneficial for both health care professionals and individuals alike, but how does one measure their biological age? https://insidescientific.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leveraging-Programmable-CRISPR-Associated-Transposases-for-Next-Generation-Genome-Engineering_F1.jpg Leveraging Programmable CRISPR-Associated Transposases for Next-Generation Genome Engineering Dr. Sam Sternberg describes a new CRISPR-Cas9 paradigm relying on nuclease-deficient bacterial transposons that catalyze RNA-guided integration of mobile genetic elements into the genome. The discovery of a fully programmable, RNA-guided transposase lays the foundation for kilobase-scale genome engineering with broad applications for developing cell and gene therapies. WATCH HERE

How do you measure biological age?

DNA methylation (DNAm) clocks are the primary way to measure ones biological age, as methylation of specific pairs of nucleotides predictably change as one ages chronologically. Methylation is a long term regulator of epigenetic gene expression; by transferring a methyl group on cytosine, it can recruit or inhibit proteins from binding to DNA, thereby preventing transcription. The most frequently methylated cytosines are those that precede a guanine nucleotide, known as CpG sites. As methylation of these CpG sites occurs at a predictable rate, DNAm clocks are able to produce a measure of biological age and morbid