AI technology maps biological aging across 29 human organs

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence method capable of estimating the biological age of 29 different human organs using blood and tissue samples. The study, published in Nature Medicine and Cell, reveals that human aging is not uniform across the body; instead, different organs age at different rates, showing a systemic acceleration around the age of fifty.

By analyzing over 25,000 microscopic images from 983 donors, the AI model identified cellular changes such as atrophy, fibrosis, and the loss of micro-vessels. This allows for the creation of organ-specific biological clocks that can measure the discrepancy between an organ's biological age and an individual's chronological age.

Complementary research conducted in Germany and the United States has begun to address the limitations of previous epigenetic clocks. While older models could accurately predict age through DNA methylation, they functioned as a 'black box' without explaining the underlying biological drivers. New findings are linking accelerated aging to specific mechanisms, such as inflammation and metabolic dysregulation, potentially moving the field toward targeted clinical therapies.