The Human Body May Age in Two Major Bursts, And a New Study Reveals What Drives Them
Aging isn't a straight line.
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Researchers have discovered that human aging does not occur uniformly across the body, but rather in distinct bursts tied to hormonal changes. A new study published in Nature Aging analyzed tissue samples from nearly 1,000 donors and found that different organs follow their own aging schedules, challenging the traditional view of aging as a steady, linear process.
Scientists led by computational biologist Sanju Sinha at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute developed an advanced imaging analysis tool to examine structural changes in over 25,000 tissue samples representing 40 different tissue types. The analysis revealed surprising patterns: arteries showed their most significant changes in people’s 30s, while reproductive tissues in women underwent major structural changes around menopause in the 50s. Most notably, the ovaries displayed two distinct periods of accelerated aging—one in the mid-30s to early 40s and another in the mid-to-late 50s.
Nine of the 14 tissues studied demonstrated this “biphasic” aging pattern, including the esophagus, stomach, colon, and small intestine. Researchers found that over half the tissues analyzed synchronized their aging patterns with the ovaries, suggesting they may serve as a biological pacemaker for whole-body aging. Hormones appear to play a critical role, as these signaling molecules influence tissues throughout the body beyond just reproductive systems.
The findings suggest that future anti-aging treatments should target specific organs during their periods of greatest vulnerability rather than treating aging as a single, universal process affecting the entire body simultaneously.
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Originally reported by Sciencealert →
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