How Aging Changes the Shape of Your Body
Aging affects many processes in our body, but does it change overall body shape as well?
The ravages of time
As we traverse adulthood and start to ripen into old age, bodily changes happen. Most of them not very desirable.
The immune system begins to sputter, the risk for cancer increases, it becomes harder to build/maintain muscle, joints creak, connective tissue loosens, and your memory is no longer what it used to be.
Aging affects all parts of our bodies, including our microbiome. And while there are some substances that are being researched for their supposed anti-aging properties (such as rapamycin), progress has mostly been made in animal models — human studies for this are restricted to observing changes in certain biomarkers.
Tweaking these biomarkers and investigating how this affects the many intertwined and convoluted pathways involved in aging has led towards implementing machine learning in aging research. A few recent studies indeed used machine learning to develop lifespan ‘clocks’, including some based on human blood proteins.
In short, aging leads to lot of bodily changes.
