Shifts in abundance of more than 135,000 types of molecules and microbes related to age did not occur gradually over time, but clustered around two ages, a study showed. For many, middle age is associated with midlife crises and internal tumult. According to new research, it is also when the human body undergoes two dramatic bouts of rapid physical transformation on a molecular level.
In a new study, scientists at Stanford University tracked age-related changes in more than 135,000 types of molecules and microbes, sampled from more than 100 adults. They discovered that shifts in their abundance - either increasing or decreasing in number - did not occur gradually over time, but clustered around two ages. “Obviously, you change throughout your entire life.
But there are two major periods when there are lots of changes: One is when people hit their mid-40s , and one is they hit their 60s,” said Professor Michael Snyder, a geneticist at Stanford University who co-wrote the study. On average, the changes clustered around the ages of 44 and 60. The peer-reviewed study, which was published on Wednesday in the journal , offers further evidence that the markers of age do not increase at a steady pace, but more sporadically.
The focus on molecular change could also offer future researchers a clue into the drivers of age-related diseases , although it is too early to say precisely how molecular change is related to ageing..