1. Activate your kit
Your kit contains a code. Before you take the sample, you activate the kit online in your personal portal. This is also where you give your explicit consent to the processing of your sample and data. We ask for consent at this point on purpose: it is given by the person who takes the test, even if the kit was a gift.
2. Take the sample at home
You prick your fingertip with the lancet and let a small microsampling device soak up a few drops of blood. The device collects an exact volume, so the lab always works with the same amount. Most people feel a short pinch. The sample dries within minutes, needs no refrigeration and goes back to us by post.
Step-by-step instructions in the kit take you through it.
3. Pseudonymised from the moment it arrives
Your sample carries only an ID number. The people who process it in the lab do not see your name. Your personal details and your lab data are linked only through a separately stored key.
4. DNA methylation is measured
Our laboratory partner extracts the DNA from your sample. A specialised lab in Germany then measures DNA methylation at more than 900,000 sites in your genome using an Illumina EPIC array, a technology that is widely used in aging research.
DNA methylation is a chemical mark on your DNA. It does not change your genetic code, but its pattern changes in characteristic ways as we age. That is what epigenetic clocks read.
5. Four published epigenetic clocks
Our analysis pipeline computes four epigenetic clocks that are published in peer-reviewed journals: Horvath (2013), PhenoAge (2018), GrimAge (2019) and DunedinPACE (2022). You can read how each one was developed on our science page.
6. Your report
Your report is ready in your encrypted portal, usually within 4 weeks after your sample arrives at the lab. We let you know by email. The report shows:
- Biological age estimates from the different clocks, next to your age in years
- Your pace of aging, estimated with DunedinPACE
- Context: what each clock measures and how much values can vary between measurements
- Limits: what the report can and cannot tell you
zeitlens is a wellness service and not a medical device. The report is not a diagnosis and does not replace medical advice.