An article by a research group at HUSS wins second prize

The April 2024 study published by the Hungarian University of Sports Science’s (HUSS) Research Centre for Molecular Exercise Science led by Professor Zsolt Radák, earned a shared second-place Best Scientific Paper award from the Anatomical Society of the United Kingdom, founded in 1887.

The HUSS research team’s study in the 2024 volume of Aging Cell (IF 7.8), which comprised 291 articles on the molecular mechanisms of aging, won the (shared) second-place Best Paper award.

Physically active middle-aged and older adults were studied to explore how their gut microbiome relates to blood-based measures of biological aging and fitness. By combining stool metagenomics, blood epigenetic clocks, and exercise data, the researchers found that:

Greater microbial diversity (entropy) in the gut is linked to faster epigenetic aging, lower physical fitness, and poorer health status.
Conversely, slower epigenetic aging and higher fitness correlate with shifts in specific bacterial species known for anti-inflammatory effects.

These results suggest that changes in the gut microbiome are associated with both biological age acceleration and physical fitness levels.

Another paper from the Research Centre for Molecular Exercise Science, published in GeroScience and examining DNA methylation–based aging in Olympic champions, was deemed “outstanding” by the journal’s editors and a review panel, confirming the excellence of the team’s work. The study found that, according to lifestyle-based epigenetic clocks, Olympic champions are on average more than six years younger than their chronological age.

The award-winning article can be accessed at this link.

Tags: research,Zsolt Radák,Research Centre for Molecular Exercise Science

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