#072 Morgan Levine, PhD, on PhenoAge and the Epigenetics of Age Acceleration — can we change the pace?

Epigenetic aging clocks, such as PhenoAge and GrimAge, offer a precise method for quantifying biological age by analyzing DNA methylation patterns, providing deeper insights into health span and mortality risk than chronological age. Unlike chronological age, these molecular markers reflect the cumulative impact of environmental and lifestyle factors, which account for the majority of epigenetic variation, while genetic influence remains relatively limited. Research into partial cellular reprogramming and plasma exchange suggests that aging may function as a modifiable program rather than an inevitable accumulation of stochastic damage. Dr. Morgan Levine, a principal investigator at Altos Labs, highlights that these clocks serve as critical tools for understanding the underlying mechanisms of aging, enabling more informed lifestyle decisions and the potential development of interventions to slow or reverse physiological decline.