Internal clocks

Animal studies have shown that the ageing process varies not only between individuals but also between organs within an individual. In this week’s issue, Tony Wyss-Coray and his colleagues reveal that this ageing difference holds true for humans, too. The researchers assessed levels of human blood plasma proteins originating from 11 organs to measure organ-specific ageing differences in 5,676 adults. They found that nearly one-fifth of the people showed strongly accelerated ageing in one organ and 1.7% showed ageing in multiple organs. The team suggests that blood proteins offer a ready way to detect the ageing effects in organs, and could help to track health and disease.

Cover image: illustratoren.de/TobiasWuestefeld