By Jordan Shaked – Yale University School of Medicine –
Aging affects every organ in the body, yet scientists still know surprisingly little about how the ovary changes over time. In a new study published in Nature Aging, Yale researchers created one of the most detailed maps of the aging ovary to date, examining how its cellular organization changes across the reproductive lifespan.
For decades, ovarian aging has largely been viewed through the lens of egg depletion – the gradual loss of the finite pool of eggs women are born with that ultimately leads to menopause. However, according to Hattie Chung, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine) at Yale School of Medicine and senior author of the study, focusing on egg loss alone provides an incomplete picture of how the ovary ages.
