UpbeatA library of 3,111 ageing genes points to the shared roots of Alzheimer's, diabetes and heart disease
Why do so many different diseases arrive with age? A team at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, led by Areejit Samal with researcher Rahul Tiwari, has built a public platform, AgingHallmarksDB, organising what seven global databases know about 3,111 human genes linked to 11 hallmarks of ageing — with 1,089 genes confirmed by multiple sources. Point the tool at a disease and patterns emerge: Alzheimer's strongest signal is a failure to clear broken proteins; atherosclerosis, the artery-clogging behind heart attacks, lights up with chronic inflammation; even air pollution switches on skin-ageing genes. The idea is to help drug hunters aim at the shared machinery of ageing itself, not just one disease at a time.
SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation