Science News Today
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Astronomy
  • Health and Medicine
  • Psychology
  • Earth Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Technology
Science News Today
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Astronomy
  • Health and Medicine
  • Psychology
  • Earth Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Technology
No Result
View All Result
Science News Today
No Result
View All Result
Home Health and Medicine

Your Brain Holds the Secret to How Long You’ll Stay Healthy

by Muhammad Tuhin
July 3, 2025
Imagine a tool to measure how fast you're aging… while you're still reasonably healthy. From a single MRI of your head, researchers can measure your aging rate and predict your risk of dementia and disability years into the future, while you might still have a shot at improving your health. Credit: Ethan Whitman, Duke University

Imagine a tool to measure how fast you're aging… while you're still reasonably healthy. From a single MRI of your head, researchers can measure your aging rate and predict your risk of dementia and disability years into the future, while you might still have a shot at improving your health. Credit: Ethan Whitman, Duke University

0
SHARES

At every high school reunion, there’s a quiet reckoning. Some classmates still carry the energy of youth—bright-eyed, quick-witted, lean and lively. Others, despite being the same age, show the creeping signs of time: slower movements, fuzzy memories, stiff joints, or a clouded gaze. It’s a powerful reminder that chronological age—how many birthdays you’ve had—is not always the best measure of how old you really are.

You might also like

America’s Babies Are Missing Gut Guardians That Protect Them for Life

The Hidden Heart Risks of Sleeping in Brightness

When Vision Fades, the Eye Fights Back with Hidden Networks

Now, thanks to a breakthrough study by scientists at Duke University, Harvard, and the University of Otago in New Zealand, we might finally have a way to measure that hidden truth.

They’ve developed a tool that can look at a single brain scan and predict how fast someone is aging—not just physically, but mentally. And in doing so, they’ve opened a window into our future selves.

The Clock in Your Brain

Published in Nature Aging, the study introduces a new kind of aging clock called DunedinPACE-NI (short for “Pace of Aging Computed from Neuroimaging”). What makes it extraordinary is that it doesn’t need decades of data, or repeated doctor visits, or even a blood test. All it needs is one brain MRI.

With that single scan, researchers can forecast not just how quickly someone is aging right now, but also their risk of chronic illness, cognitive decline, and even early death—often years before symptoms emerge.

“This is what’s so exciting,” said Ahmad Hariri, a Duke University professor of psychology and neuroscience and one of the study’s senior authors. “We’ve found a way to detect how fast someone is aging while they’re still in midlife—when there’s still time to do something about it.”

A Study That Follows People for Life

The research is built on the world-renowned Dunedin Study, which has followed 1,037 people born in the same city in New Zealand between 1972 and 1973 for over 50 years. These participants have been measured and monitored throughout their lives: lung function, cholesterol, kidney health, cognitive performance, dental health, and more.

Over the past two decades, scientists have used this data to calculate how fast each individual is biologically aging—creating a personalized “pace of aging” score for each person. Some participants were aging biologically one year per calendar year. Others were aging much faster—two or even three biological years for every one lived.

Then came the next step: using this aging data to train an artificial intelligence model to predict a person’s pace of aging using only their brain scan taken at age 45. That model became DunedinPACE-NI.

Seeing Risk Before It Arrives

After training the tool, the researchers tested it on brain scans from thousands of people across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Latin America. The results were startling.

People whose brain scans indicated faster aging at midlife were:

  • More likely to show cognitive decline in the years that followed.
  • More prone to shrinkage in key brain areas, particularly the hippocampus, which is vital for memory.
  • More likely to be diagnosed with dementia years later.
  • At higher risk for chronic conditions, such as heart disease and stroke.
  • More likely to die earlier.

In one major dataset, people with the fastest brain aging were 60% more likely to develop dementia and 40% more likely to die within a few years, compared to those aging more slowly.

“When we saw those numbers,” Hariri said, “our jaws just dropped to the floor.”

The Brain-Body Connection

Importantly, the tool didn’t just predict changes in mental health. It also correlated strongly with the overall condition of the body.

People with high DunedinPACE-NI scores were more likely to be frail, more prone to serious illness, and more likely to suffer physical decline—confirming that aging is a whole-body process that reflects deeply in the brain.

“The links between aging of the brain and body are pretty compelling,” Hariri said.

And it didn’t just work in one population. The tool predicted outcomes across people of different races, income levels, and countries, suggesting that the brain carries a universal signature of how fast we are aging, regardless of background.

Why Current Aging Clocks Fall Short

For years, scientists have been searching for reliable “aging clocks”—tools that could measure biological aging and predict future health. Most have relied on things like blood samples, DNA methylation patterns, or snapshots of health data taken from people of different ages.

But there’s a problem with that approach. If you’re comparing people born decades apart, it’s easy to mistake generational differences for aging itself. Did someone age faster, or were they just exposed to more pollution, fewer vaccines, or different diets?

“That’s why our approach is so powerful,” Hariri explained. “We followed the same people for decades. We’re not guessing—we’re measuring real changes over time.”

What It Means for Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Right now, the world faces an Alzheimer’s crisis. By 2050, nearly 1 in 4 people on Earth will be over 65. With that comes an expected explosion of dementia cases—and costs. Alzheimer’s alone could consume more than $9 trillion per year in global care, according to some estimates.

Despite decades of research, there is still no cure. Treatments have largely failed, partly because they are often started too late—after the brain has already suffered irreversible damage.

“Drugs can’t resurrect a dying brain,” Hariri said.

That’s why this new tool is so promising. By identifying people at risk much earlier—perhaps in their 40s or 50s—doctors could intervene sooner, long before dementia sets in. Lifestyle changes, new therapies, or targeted prevention strategies could be tested more efficiently, without waiting decades for symptoms to appear.

Still a Research Tool—for Now

The DunedinPACE-NI clock isn’t yet available in hospitals or clinics. For now, it’s a research tool—though a powerful and freely available one. The scientists hope it will become a standard in future brain-aging studies, and that with more validation, it might eventually help doctors make real-world decisions.

Ethan Whitman, a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at Duke and lead author of the study, sees potential beyond disease prediction. The tool could help reveal why certain risk factors—like poor sleep, childhood trauma, or chronic stress—make some people age faster than others.

“Ultimately,” Whitman said, “we want to understand what slows aging, what speeds it up, and how we can help everyone age better.”

The Future of Aging—Written in the Brain

Aging may be inevitable, but its pace isn’t fixed. That’s the quiet promise behind this research. Our lives are shaped by more than calendars—they’re shaped by biology, choices, and increasingly, technology that can reveal what’s happening inside us long before the signs show on the outside.

The DunedinPACE-NI tool doesn’t just tell us how old our brains look. It tells us how fast our lives are unfolding—and offers a chance, perhaps, to rewrite the story.

And that’s not just science. That’s hope.

Reference: Ethan T. Whitman et al, DunedinPACNI estimates the longitudinal Pace of Aging from a single brain image to track health and disease, Nature Aging (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-025-00897-z

TweetShareSharePinShare

Recommended For You

Health and Medicine

America’s Babies Are Missing Gut Guardians That Protect Them for Life

July 8, 2025
Health and Medicine

The Hidden Heart Risks of Sleeping in Brightness

July 8, 2025
Graphical abstract. Credit: Current Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.05.057
Health and Medicine

When Vision Fades, the Eye Fights Back with Hidden Networks

July 8, 2025
Health and Medicine

Your Brain Keeps Growing New Neurons Even in Old Age

July 5, 2025
Health and Medicine

This Pig Kidney Survived in a Human Body for 61 Days and Changed Everything

July 4, 2025
Woman hand checking lumps on her breast for signs of breast cancer on white background. Healthcare concept. Cancer self check; healthy girl.
Health and Medicine

One Hormone Combo Raises Cancer Risk While Another May Lower It

July 4, 2025
Two-photon microscopy captures axonal segments in a living brain, enabling researchers to quantify structural changes in specialized areas under noninvasive low-intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). A zoomed-out survey of the brain area (A) shows complex networks of neurons, visible via fluorescent marker. Insets (B and C) show specialized axonal endings (termed "boutons") where synapses form. TB axon: "terminaux boutons" are short protrusions from the axon shaft typically connecting neurons in a local area. EPB axon: "en passant boutons" are small bead-like structures along axons typically connecting distal regions. Credit: B. Fulopova (Queen's University).
Health and Medicine

Magnetic Brain Pulses Awaken Lost Connections in Alzheimer’s

July 4, 2025
Health and Medicine

The Brain’s Sugar Secret Could Be the Key to Beating Alzheimer’s

July 4, 2025
Cytomegalovirus. Credit: CDC/Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr. (PHIL #958), 1982.
Health and Medicine

The Secret Door That Lets a Silent Virus Harm Newborns

July 4, 2025
Next Post

The Weight Loss Medication That Might Stop Migraines

What Are Memories Made Of If Even Neuroscientists Can’t Agree

Your Gut Might Be Behind Your Binge Eating and Diet Struggles

Legal

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

© 2025 Science News Today. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Astronomy
  • Health and Medicine
  • Psychology
  • Earth Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Technology

© 2025 Science News Today. All rights reserved.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.