Quantcast
ZME Science
  • CoronavirusNEW
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Science Biology

Humans live much longer than chimps due to a slower epigenetic ‘clock’

Our cells look younger than those of chimps due to chemical changes to our genome when we branched away from a common ancestor 8 million years ago.

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
September 21, 2020
in Biology, News

Breakthrough advances in medicine and better nutrition have dramatically improved the longevity of the average human over the past two centuries. But that’s not to say that some couldn’t go on to live a long life even before the advent of modern medicine. As long as they were spared by disease, wars, and other risks that can bring an untimely death, humans could live to see their 70s, 80s, and even reach 100 years old as far back as ancient Rome.

The longevity of humans is somewhat exceptional among primates. Chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, rarely make it past age 50, despite them sharing over 99% of our DNA. In a new study, researchers think they’ve found our secret: chemical changes along our genome that occurred around 7-8 million years ago when our ancestors branched away from the lineage of chimps.

Slower ticker

There are tens of thousands of genes in the human genome, but that doesn’t mean all of them are active. For instance, through the methylation of DNA across certain sites of the genetic sequence, genes are locked in the “off” position. These modifications, known as epigenetic changes (‘epi’ means ‘above’ in Greek), do not alter the DNA sequence itself but, rather, simply regulate the activity of genes.

ADVERTISEMENT

DNA methylation involves attaching small molecules called methyl groups, each consisting of one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms, to segments of DNA. When DNA gains or loses a methyl tag, such events mark time. In fact, the changes are so consistent that methylation can be used as an “aging clock”. Previously, scientists were able to estimate a person’s chronological age based on their gene activity within less than four years.

In a new study, researchers at Duke University and George Washington University have analyzed age-related epigenetic changes in chimpanzees. They analyzed over 850,000 methylation sites in blood from 83 chimpanzees aged 1 to 59.

Just like in humans, aging also leaves its epigenetic signature on the genomes of chimps, the authors of the study found. More than 65,000 DNA sites changed in a clock-like fashion across the primates’ lifespan, some gaining methylation and others losing it.

ADVERTISEMENT

The DNA methylation pattern was so reliable that the researchers could tell a chimp’s age from their genomes with an error within 2.5 years — much more accurate than other methods, such as estimating an animal’s age by measuring the amount of wear on their molars.

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

When compared to the epigenetic aging clock of humans, the researchers found that a chimp’s clock ticked faster. The authors aren’t sure that these changes actively contribute to aging or merely track the aging process. However, they hope they might eventually learn more about how gene regulation could be involved in physical and cognitive decline that often accompanies aging.

The findings appeared in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

Tags: epigeneticslongevity
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines.

Follow ZME on social media

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.