Age affects us all eventually, but a lucky few seem to stave off the effects of ageing for longer. A new blood test may help us understand why.

As well as telling us how fast we are ageing, the test can also predict whether a person is more likely to develop a chronic disease or die in the near future. It is an update on epigenetic clocks, tests that estimate a person’s biological age based on markers thought to control the way genes are expressed.

“It’s …