Simple, straightforward question; but often the answer isn't either. If only we could develop an Agemeter (or should it be Ageometer? ) just like the thermometer for body temperature!. An ageometer with a precision of 0.5 to give readings like 17.5, 18.0, 18.5, 19 ..... Age has always been important from the medico-legal angle, because it bestows varying levels of rights and responsibilities on children, juveniles and adults and at times senior citizens. Currently a combination of methods are used to assess the age of an individual - examination of teeth, wrist bones etc. But the error margins are often 3-4 years.
Age Factor has now spilled beyond medico-legal boundaries into geo-political and socio-economic arena. The recent mass influx of refugees into Europe is the single biggest thrust factor. According to recent reports Europe has close to 4 million refugees. As per the UN requirements, asylum seekers under the age of 18 are eligible for special benefits and that means a drain on national resources. A population fleeing from its war torn homeland can't think of, let alone pause to pick up passports or birth certificates. Moreover families get separated often with none to vouch for the age of orphaned youngsters. There is widespread feeling that refugees deliberately forge their age to qualify for special benefit package. With nationalism on the surge all over the world, resentment against refugees are flaring up everywhere.
Age Factor has now spilled beyond medico-legal boundaries into geo-political and socio-economic arena. The recent mass influx of refugees into Europe is the single biggest thrust factor. According to recent reports Europe has close to 4 million refugees. As per the UN requirements, asylum seekers under the age of 18 are eligible for special benefits and that means a drain on national resources. A population fleeing from its war torn homeland can't think of, let alone pause to pick up passports or birth certificates. Moreover families get separated often with none to vouch for the age of orphaned youngsters. There is widespread feeling that refugees deliberately forge their age to qualify for special benefit package. With nationalism on the surge all over the world, resentment against refugees are flaring up everywhere.
It is in this context that the Epigenetic Clock proposed by Professor Horvath (Dept. of Genetics and Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA) catches global attention. There is scientific concurrence that DNA methylation levels (referred to as DNAm), could be a measure of the mammalian ageing process, though the "How" and "Why" of the correlation remain blurred. Methylation happens at the cytosine nucleotide linearly attached to a guanine nucleotide. These are referred to as CpG sites. Methylated CpG sites are thus biomarkers, which have the potential to turn off genes. In his approach Prof Harvoth used a special machine learning method to identify the biomarkers located at informative genomic locations and then an algorithm to predict the biological age. Initially selecting 353 such sites, Prof Horvath demonstrated that this method could spell out the biological age for a majority of tissue samples with a median error of 1.03 years. However it is also a fact that there were outliers with error margin as high as 5 years. While scientists are focusing on improving the accuracy of the method, Zymo a company based in Irvine, California bought exclusive rights for the technology. DNAge Epigenetic Aging Clock service is now available for US$299. Tailpiece
The Old Town Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Prague, dating back to 1338. The astronomical clock installed in 1410 is the oldest, still ticking astronomical clock in the world.
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| Town Hall Tower with the Astronomical Clock |
REFERENCES:
1. Forensic Age Estimation
2. UNHCR- Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care
4. DNA methylation-based biomarkers and the epigenetic clock theory of aging
5. European authorities demanding an Epigenetic Clock Zymo leading the way
2. UNHCR- Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care
4. DNA methylation-based biomarkers and the epigenetic clock theory of aging
5. European authorities demanding an Epigenetic Clock Zymo leading the way
