But it wasn't until a new discovery by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, that scientists could actually determine a person's age using genetic material. Despite the sophistication of the latest tools of forensic science, it hasn't been possible to establish definitively the age of a specific tissue sample or cell. DNA, it seems, doesn't give away your age.
But on Wednesday, UCLA researchers reported in the journal Public Library of Science ONE (PLoS ONE) that for the first time, they may be able to glean age from genetic material. Working with saliva samples, the team focused on epigenetic changes to DNA. These alterations — which are caused by environmental influences like diet, stress, exposure to sunlight and carcinogens and even toxins — do not change the DNA itself, but are layered on top of the genome, affecting how genes are turned on or off. At specific areas of the genome, say the scientists, these changes build up or decrease in almost chronological fashion, allowing them to serve as a timeline to predict a person's age to within five years."
via TIME Healthland/continue reading
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