World first DNA study: where you live may change how fast you age
University of Manchester scientists, part of a global team led by Stanford University, have uncovered a remarkable link between where you live and how quickly your body ages.
Publishing in one of the world鈥檚 leading scientific journals Cell, the researchers analysed 322 healthy people from Europe, East Asia and South Asia to build the most detailed picture yet of how genetic ancestry and environment shape our biology.
They used a sweeping 鈥渕ultiomics鈥� approach, measuring everything from genes and proteins to gut bacteria, metabolic chemicals and metals to understand how ethnicity and geography shape our biology.
By recruiting people of the same genetic ancestry living on different continents, the scientists were able to separate the effects of DNA from the influence of environment with unprecedented clarity.
Genetic ancestry refers to the estimation of where your ancestors came from based on patterns in your DNA, inherited across generations.
They found that your ethnic background leaves a deep mark on your immune system, metabolism and gut bacteria no matter where you move.
South Asian volunteers showed signs of higher exposure to pathogens across multiple biological layers.
European participants had richer gut microbial diversity and higher levels of chemicals tied to heart disease risk.
But geography also rewired key molecular networks involved in cholesterol, inflammation and energy processing.
Moving continents was enough to shift major metabolic pathways and alter the balance of gut microbes.
The most dramatic finding was that geography appears to change biological age 鈥� the molecular measure of how old your cells look.
East Asians living outside Asia were biologically older than those who stayed in Asia.
Europeans showed the opposite pattern, appearing biologically younger when living outside Europe.
What this study shows, more clearly than ever before, is that our biology is shaped by a combination of both our genetic ancestry and the places we live
The researchers say this suggests environment and genetic ancestry interact in surprising ways that could speed up or slow down ageing.
The study also uncovered a never-before-seen link between a telomerase gene involved in cellular ageing and a specific gut microbe, connected through a lipid molecule called sphingomyelin.
This unexpected three-way link hints at a molecular chain reaction through which gut bacteria may influence how quickly our cells age.
The findings create a powerful new resource for precision medicine, highlighting the need for healthcare tailored to genetic ancestry and environment rather than a one-size-fits-all model.
The researchers say their open-access dataset will help scientists and clinicians develop more accurate diagnostics, treatments and prevention strategies tailored to genetic ancestry, environment and individual biology.
鈥淲hat this study shows, more clearly than ever before, is that our biology is shaped by a combination of both our genetic ancestry and the places we live,鈥� said co鈥慳uthor Professor from The University of Manchester.
91直播 carried out analysis of biological metals alongside the international groups looking at proteins, the immune system, metabolism and microbiomes to generate a massive integrated picture of human variability.
Professor Unwin added: 鈥淲e were struck by how consistently ethnicity influenced immunity, metabolism and the microbiome, even when people moved thousands of miles away.
鈥淗owever, it is equally clear that where we live can have substantial impacts on nudging key molecular pathways 鈥� even how our cells appear to age 鈥� in different directions depending on who you are. It proves that precision medicine must reflect real global diversity, not a single population.鈥�
Michael Snyder, Professor of Genetics at the Stanford School of Medicine who led the study said: 鈥淥ur study is special because for the first time we have deeply profiled people from around the world, including Asia, Europe and North America. This enables us to see what properties such as metabolites and microbes are associated with ethnicity and which ones with geography.
鈥淥ne interesting finding is the association of age with geography. East Asians that live outside of Asia have a higher biological age than those residing in Asia. For Europeans, those residing outside of Europe are younger.鈥�
- The paper A Comparison of Deep Multiomics Profiles Across Ethnicity, Geography, and Age is available DOI