How old are you really?

Subject: How old are you really? Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:49 am

So how fast are you ageing?

How old are you really? Beauty_LW-20130724160529886222-620x349

Don't look to online calculators of ''biological age'' for an answer. Those focus mainly on risk factors for diseases, and say little about normal ageing, the slow, mysterious process that turns children to codgers.

In fact, scientists are still hunting for biological markers of age that reliably register how fast the process is unfolding. Seemingly obvious candidates won't do. Wrinkles, for example, often have more to do with sun exposure than ageing. Markers such as age-related increases in blood pressure are similarly problematic, often confounded by factors unrelated to ageing.

But recently researchers have identified some particularly good indicators of time's largely hidden toll on our bodies and how fast it's increasing. Developing an easy way to measure biological age will have a wide array of applications in prediction and prevention of age-related diseases, drug discovery and forensics', says Dr Kang Zhang, founding director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at the University of California.
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The quest for truly revealing biomarkers of ageing could tell us a lot about our current and future health. Tracking these indices before and after starting a new diet or exercise program, for instance, might show whether it is actually pushing off your decline and fall. Ageing-rate tests could help scientists evaluate possible anti-ageing compounds in humans without prohibitively long studies.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/how-old-are-you-really-20130726-2qnxl.html#ixzz2abiOczon

How old are you really?

How old are you really?

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