doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10542-3
Credibility: 989
#Biological clock
We all know that time passes for every living being, but no one can predict exactly when life will end
Now, scientists have developed an innovative tool that analyzes gene activity in the body and can estimate with good accuracy the rate of biological aging of a person or animal, helping to understand how much time a person or animal may have left.
Unlike epigenetic clocks, which measure chemical marks on DNA and are not always reliable, this new method is based on the transcriptome – that is, the RNA molecules that indicate which genes are switched on or off at a given moment.
Over the years, the way genes are expressed changes, and these patterns reveal whether the body is aging faster or slower than expected by chronological age.
The researchers gathered more than 11,000 samples from four different species: mice, rats, monkeys, and humans.
They analyzed various tissues, such as blood, liver, heart, and muscles, and discovered that many signs of aging are similar among animals and between different parts of the body.
This means that even cells with completely different functions, such as those in the liver and heart, share similar markers of aging.
Genes that help in healthy cell division and wound healing appear as signs of slower aging.
Those linked to cell death and chronic inflammation indicate accelerated aging and a higher risk of disease.
The clock can capture these details and also identify the impact of chronic conditions, such as known diseases, in animal models and samples from human patients.
Tests have shown that, using only human blood samples, the new clock predicts time to death with accuracy similar to or even better than the best existing epigenetic clocks.
Furthermore, it detects when biological aging accelerates due to stress, pollution, or disease, or when it slows down thanks to healthy habits such as good nutrition and exercise.
One of the great advantages is the possibility of using this marker to quickly test the effect of medications, diets, or lifestyle changes.
Instead of waiting years for results from long studies, scientists will be able to see in a short time whether an intervention is actually slowing down the biological clock.
Although not yet a perfect tool – and not a replacement for complete clinical examinations – it represents an important advance for longevity research.
The study’s authors, led by Alexander Tyshkovskiy of Harvard Medical School, highlight that these markers appear to be conserved throughout evolution, suggesting that we are dealing with fundamental mechanisms of aging.
However, it is still unclear whether these genes cause aging, are merely a consequence of it, or represent the body’s attempts to protect itself.
A British expert, João Pedro de Magalhães, points out that many of these signals may be adaptive responses to accumulated damage, and not the driving force of the process itself.
The work, published in the journal “Nature,” paves the way for a better understanding of how aging affects different organs and species.
In the future, with more tests in diverse human populations, this technology could help personalize healthcare, identify risks early, and even guide strategies for living longer with quality.
In short, while no one can say for sure the exact day of our death, this new biological clock gives us a clearer view of how our bodies are aging internally.
He transforms a question that always seemed impossible to answer into something that science is beginning to measure with increasing precision and usefulness for everyone.
Published in 06/07/2026 07h16
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.
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