Stress causes cells to age. But the process is reversible.

Stress such as illnesses or accidents leave their mark on our cells, they age. But this is reversible and gives hope to anti-aging researchers.

Stress makes you old – that sounds like a truism, but it has been proven in molecular biology: it ensures that epigenetic changes occur in the genome that shorten the lifespan of a cell. Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine are now showing that this process is not irreversible. They proved this with the help of laboratory mice, parabiosis experiments and special molecular clocks.

A person’s chronological age can easily be determined from their identity card. However, in order to measure its biological age, scientists analyze the genome. This changes its epigenetic structure over time. The genes of the genome remain the same, but because special methyl groups attach themselves to the DNA, some genes can no longer be read – others suddenly become readable.