Embryos appear to reverse their biological clock early in development

 

Aging does not carry over to the next generation of progeny. There is no inheritance of the age of your parents and the germ-line cells are responsible. Once thought to be ageless or immortal but found to be untrue, the germ-line cells now are thought to possess a function that acts as a reset on their age. In a new study, scientists report that both mouse and human germ-line cells reset their age early in embryo development. The biological clock of a mouse embryo being studied was constant and unchanging but after 6 to 8 days, the age had taken a dip. The understanding of this process and the ability to control it could lead to further advances on battling age-related diseases like arthritis or Parkinson's. It is still unknown what the mechanism behind the age changes in these early developmental cells and further research will be necessary to uncover it.