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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Measuring Single-Cell Aging with an Imaging-based Biomarker of Chromatin and Epigenetic Aging
Published on: January 30, 2026
DNA methylation-based biomarkers and the epigenetic clock theory of ageing
Steve Horvath1,2, Kenneth Raj3
1Department of Human Genetics, Gonda Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA. shorvath@mednet.ucla.edu.
Abstract:
Identifying and validating molecular targets of interventions that extend the human health span and lifespan has been difficult, as most clinical biomarkers are not sufficiently representative of the fundamental mechanisms of ageing to serve as their indicators. In a recent breakthrough, biomarkers of ageing based on DNA methylation data have enabled accurate age estimates for any tissue across the entire life course. These 'epigenetic clocks' link developmental and maintenance processes to biological ageing, giving rise to a unified theory of life course. Epigenetic biomarkers may help to address long-standing questions in many fields, including the central question: why do we age?
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