July 6th, 2026
Aging clocks cannot be trusted to produce useful data for any novel intervention in aging. They are produced via machine learning approaches applied to biological data from a large study population, and there is very little understanding of how underlying mechanisms of aging connect to the data used to build the clock. Thus effects on aging produced by way to change mitochondrial function or clear senescent cells may or may not be accurately reflected by any given clock - the only way to find out is to run a lengthy, expensive life span study, which defeats the point of having a quick and simple measure. The only practical way forward to make clocks more trustworthy in the near term, or at least to understand which clocks are most consistent, is to gather as much data as possible on their responses to interventions known to at least modestly impact aspects of aging, and that is exactly what is happening.
Aging-related chronic diseases are driven by multiple mechanisms, motivating efforts to develop feasible interventions that can attenuate biological aging. DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks, particularly measures of the pace of aging such as DunedinPACE, are sensitive to relatively short-term changes in aging processes. However, evidence from randomized controlled trials remains limited. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test a 12-week multimodal lifestyle intervention comprising exercise and dietary guidance involving daily consumption of yogurt containing Bifidobacterium longum BB536 on DNA methylation-based aging measures in overweight men aged ≥50 years.
