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In mammals, the 5-methylcytosine epigenetic mark is mostly located in transposable elements, which are repetitive intragenomic parasites. In this issue of _Nature Aging_, Gorbunova and

colleagues show that 5-methylcytosine levels in certain LINE1 retrotransposon loci highly correlate with age and the incidence of certain pathologies. Thus, LINE1 (the only known

transposable element family capable of autonomous jumping in the human genome) serves as a suitable DNA template for accurately determining age and predicting disease. Access through your

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calculated during checkout ADDITIONAL ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES * Yoder, J. A., Walsh, C. P.

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supported by the grant OTKA (Hungarian Scientific Research Fund; K132439) and HUN-REN-ELTE (Hungarian Research Network-Eötvös Loránd University) Genetics Research Group (01062). AUTHOR

INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary Bernadette Hotzi & Tibor Vellai * Hungarian-Research Network

(HUN-REN)-ELTE, Genetics Research Group, Budapest, Hungary Tibor Vellai * Vellab Biotech Ltd., Szeged, Hungary Tibor Vellai Authors * Bernadette Hotzi View author publications You can also

search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Tibor Vellai View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to

Tibor Vellai. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing interests. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Hotzi,

B., Vellai, T. Transposable element methylation tracks age. _Nat Aging_ 5, 179–181 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-00807-3 Download citation * Published: 27 January 2025 * Issue

Date: February 2025 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-00807-3 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry,

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