--- title: "Fun New Mouth Swab Will Tell You When You’ll Die" description: "Scientists have devised a fascinating way to determine when you may die — and all it takes is a simple cheek swab." date: "2024-10-06" modified: "2024-10-06" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/cheek-swab-mortality-epigenetics" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "Aging" - "dna" - "Epigenetics" - "mortality" --- # Fun New Mouth Swab Will Tell You When You’ll Die ![Scientists have devised a fascinating way to determine when you may die — and all it takes is a simple cheek swab.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Scientists have devised a fascinating way to determine when you may die. Known as "CheekAge," this new biological clock-reader developed by the company Tally Health is, [according to a press release](), a far less invasive version of so-called "epigenetic clock" technology scientists have been using for the past decade to help determine how fast people are aging. While there are some "[super-agers]()" who age particularly well, most folks' [aging rates]() generally follow both genetic trends personal to them and their own lifestyle factors, including smoking, drinking, stress, and diet. Paired with epigenetic factors — those that are "imprinted" on our DNA from ancestral factors ranging from proximity to [environmental pollution]() to the full-body stress of [dealing with institutional racism]() — scientists can, with a fairly high level of certainty, determine how fast you're going to age. Put differently: scientists can tell you when you're going to die. In the past, however, the process involved either [taking blood tissue samples]() or being subjected to a [battery of tests]() that more resembled a physical assessment than anything else. Seeking a less-invasive solution, researchers at the New York-based longevity company Tally Health not only came up with a new methodology but are likely intending to sell it to the public. After sifting through data from a [longitudinal aging study out of Scotland]() that measured elderly patients' DNA expression (otherwise known as "methylation") over time, the Tally Health team determined that they had acquired enough of a trove of biomarkers to create their own epigenetic clock criteria. In a new study published in the journal [*Frontiers in Aging*](), the Tally experts explained how they created what they're calling a "second-generation clock," which can detect DNA methylation most associated with mortality from cells obtained via a cheek swab. "The fact that our epigenetic clock trained on cheek cells predicts mortality when measuring the methylome in blood cells suggests there are common mortality signals across tissues," boasted Maxim Shokhirev, the study's first author and head of computational biology and data science at Tally Health. "This implies that a simple, non-invasive cheek swab can be a valuable alternative for studying and tracking the biology of aging." Because the research was funded and undertaken by a for-profit company, there is also clearly a financial benefit to this research. Specifically, it appears that Tally Health is already selling its cheek swab tests, though it's unclear if the methodology boasted in this new paper is the same that's included in the [$250 box kit]() advertised on its website, but we've reached out to the company for clarification. **More on aging:** [*Scientists Figure Out Exact Ages Your Face Will Start Aging Like Milk*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()