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Health

A blood test could reveal how quickly or slowly you are ageing

By Jessica Hamzelou

25 May 2020

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

A speedometer blood test could tell how fast you’re ageing

BLACKDAY / Alamy

Age affects us all eventually, but a lucky few seem to stave off the effects of ageing for longer. A new blood test may help us understand why.

As well as telling us how fast we are ageing, the test can also predict whether a person is more likely to develop a chronic disease or die in the near future. It is an update on epigenetic clocks, tests that estimate a person’s biological age based on markers thought to control the way genes are expressed.

“It’s…

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