Even though we can take steps to slow it down, we can’t completely stop aging. Research shows that we don’t age at the same speed from the day we’re born until the day we die. Rather, specific ages can trigger bursts of aging in the body that speed everything up for a time. Studies have pointed to two main years when this happens: around 44 and again close to 60.
Scientists still have a lot to learn, especially when it comes to how the organs of the body respond to aging. Dr. Guang-Hui Liu, a regenerative medicine expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, put it this way: “Aging, as a systemic, degenerative process that spans multiple organs and biological strata, remains one of the most profound unresolved questions in the life sciences.”
Aging is a universal yet mysterious process, and knowing whether every organ clock ticks in sync or whether a master switch in our cells controls it could change our understanding of growing old. Until recently, nobody had a good, step-by-step answer to this or to the question of how every part of the body begins to rust in concert.
That gap is closing. Liu, the lead researcher behind a fresh study in the journal *Cell*, teamed up with scientists to zoom in on tiny protein changes that happen as a person ages. By looking at these protein markers, they can now chart how organs and tissues deteriorate and clock a big speed-up in that process around age 50.
Out of the large pack of proteins they studied, aging switch study 48 stood out because they signal diseases tied to the heart and liver, among others. These markers rose steadily as the donors aged.
Tracking aging with study Over 135,000 Molecules
California researchers monitored 108 adults aged 25 to 75 to understand aging at the molecular level. On average, each participant was followed for 1.7 years, with some data extending to 7 years.
Every few months, volunteers provided blood and other biological samples. This recurring data collection let scientists observe shifts in the body’s molecules and the communities of microbes that live in us, called the microbiome.
Across the project, the team measured changes in over 135,000 unique molecules and microbes, generating nearly 250 million individual data points.
“We’re scanning health at a deeper level than ever — capturing tens of thousands of molecules with their microbial partners to build a complete profile,” said Michael P. Snyder, PhD, a genetics professor at Stanford and the study’s senior author, in an interview with Medical News Today. “While doing that, we also witness the aging process in action.”
Building a clear “map” of aging was the group’s next step. They analyzed 516 tiny pieces of 13 kinds of human tissue taken from 76 organ donors whose ages ranged from 14 to 68 and whose deaths had been caused by traumatic brain injury. Among the samples were slices of heart, intestine, lungs, the glands that release hormones, muscles, and many more, including skin, blood, and immune tissue.
The team then mapped the specific proteins found in organ and tissue samples. That let them build what Liu calls “a proteomic aging atlas” covering 50 complete years of human life.
“By including seven physiological systems and thirteen key tissues, the atlas gives a sweeping, changing view of human aging through the lens of proteins,” Liu explained. “The more than 20,000 proteins our genome makes provide the sturdy framework of cells. Their shifting networks finely fine-tune balance in the body and run almost every biological process.”
“Because of this, making a detailed, life-wide atlas of changing proteins and sorting the reprogramming rules of these networks throughout organs and systems is crucial. That work will help us pinpoint the main aging drivers and set accurate targets for future treatments,” he add
Biggest Molecule Shifts in Mid-40s and Early 60s
While examining the stats, Snyder and his group saw that 81% of the molecules and microbes they tracked shift more strongly at specific ages than at any other part of life. What stood out the most were the two age windows that show the biggest changes: the mid-40s and the early 60s.