A team of scientists from the University of Science and Technology of Macau and Shanghai Jiao Tong University has developed a new method for estimating biological age. The researchers hope the discovery will eventually help slow the aging process.
The method uses artificial intelligence to analyze 3D images of specific body parts: the face, the tongue, and the retina (the layer of cells at the back of the eye that converts light into signals for the brain).
Chronological age is simply the number of years a person has lived. Biological age reflects how worn out a person’s cells and tissues are. For many people, biological age and chronological age do not match.
Most often, researchers estimate biological age using the “epigenetic clock”—biomarkers calculated from DNA methylation patterns. Before epigenetic clocks, biological age was usually assessed using blood and DNA tests and brain scans.
What does the new method involve?
To create an accessible and accurate predictor of biological age, the team developed an AI tool that analyzes 3D images of the face, tongue, and retina. Photographs of the face can reveal the health of your skin, images of the tongue can reflect the state of the oral microbiome, and a retinal scan can indicate the condition of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
The researchers trained and tested the model on 11,223 healthy volunteers and then evaluated it on 2,840 people with chronic diseases. The model estimated that people in the chronic-disease group had biological ages significantly higher than their chronological ages, compared with the healthy group.
In a PNAS article, the team says their method is cheaper, simpler, and less invasive than DNA, blood, or brain scans.
The team says the tool could be useful for assessing how chronic diseases affect aging and how aging affects chronic disease.
British longevity expert Andrew Steele says the next big question is how these biological age indicators respond to anti-aging interventions such as diets, exercise, or new anti-aging drugs.
More good news
The researchers told the BBC and Science Focus that the AI tool for estimating biological age will soon be available for smartphone users. The team plans to release an affordable app for easy mobile access, said Dr. Kan Zhang, the lead author of the study.
“We hope that this accessible artificial intelligence tool can be widely used as a non-invasive and cost-effective evaluator of the impact of lifestyle and pharmacological interventions on slowing down aging,” added Dr. Zhang.
