Science can’t stop aging, but it may be able to slow our epigenetic clocks. What if we could slow down the hands of our biological clocks? This question underpins much of the research of Morgan Levine, who leads a research team at the life science company Altos Labs. Levine investigates the fascinating intricacies of aging, recognizing that it doesn't happen at a uniform pace for everyone. Central to her exploration is the concept of epigenetics — the factors that influence gene activity without changing the DNA sequence. Levine focuses on DNA methylation, a significant epigenetic change that occurs with aging, and the development of models called "epigenetic clocks" that can be used to predict biological age. While she acknowledges that it might be possible to reverse aging at a cellular level, Levine clarifies that the ultimate goal is not to "cure" aging or death, but to delay disease onset and improve healthspan.

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Chapters:

0:00 Fast agers & slow agers

1:25 The hallmarks of aging

1:59 What is the epigenetic clock?

3:05 Can we ‘Benjamin Button’ aging?

5:22 The holy grail for scientists

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