Aging

Aging is recorded in our genes

June 13, 2012

Genome-wide DNA methylation levels for newborn (inner ring), age 26, and age 103 individuals (credit: Holger Heyn et al./PNAS)

Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain have found a significantly higher amount of cytosine methylation in the newborn than in the centenarian: 80.5% of all cytosine nucleotides, compared with 73%.

Recent research suggests that changes in DNA methylation patterns as a person gets older may contribute to human diseases for which risk increases with age, including cancer./.../