Machine learning models predict mice lifespan
How old are you for your age? Scientists who study aging have begun to distinguish chronological age: how long it’s been since a person was born, and so-called biological age: how much a body is “aged” and how close it is to the end of life. These researchers are uncovering ways to measure biological age, from grip strength to the lengths of protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, known as telomeres. Their goal: to construct a comprehensive set of metrics that predicts an individual’s life span and health span — the number of healthy years they have left — and illuminates the drivers of, and treatments for, age-related diseases. A team led by David Sinclair, professor of genetics in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, has just taken another step toward this goal by developing two artificial intelligence-based clocks that use established measures of frailty to gauge both chronological and biological...