Listen to Story Ageing affects everyone differently, and while some people seem to age slowly due to good genes, many lifestyle factors can speed up the process. Stress, poor sleep, unhealthy eating, smoking, and alcohol all contribute to faster ageing. These habits leave marks on our DNA, and scientists have discovered ways to measure these changes to predict how fast someone is ageing.
Over the past ten years, researchers have developed tools called "epigenetic clocks" that track these DNA changes. THE 'CHEEKAGE' CLOCK These clocks use samples from blood cells, but collecting blood can be stressful and difficult. Now, a group of scientists in the US has created a new version of this clock called CheekAge, which uses cells from the inside of your cheek – a much simpler and painless process.
In a recent study published in Frontiers in Aging , the researchers showed that CheekAge can accurately predict the risk of dying, even if the DNA data comes from other parts of the body, like blood. Over the past ten years, researchers have developed tools called "epigenetic clocks" that track these DNA changes. (Photo: Getty Images) Dr Maxim Shokhirev, who led the research, explained, "We've found specific markers that are closely linked to how long someone might live, and these markers can be tracked with our cheek cell-based clock.
" HOW DOES CHEEKAGE WORK? The development of CheekAge involved looking at about 2,00,000 DNA sites in people's cheek cells. These sites were analysed for .
