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Nature 419, 794-795 (24 October 2002) | doi:10.1038/419794a

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Ageing: The old worm turns more slowly

Thomas B. L. Kirkwood1 & Caleb E. Finch2

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Detailed studies of cellular changes in ageing nematode worms show that they, like humans, suffer progressive muscle deterioration. Randomness of cell damage is another shared hallmark of the ageing process.

When the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans was first considered as a model for the study of ageing some 20 years ago, few foresaw how valuable it would prove to be. The past decade, in particular, has seen an explosion of work on the genetics of lifespan in this species.

  1. Thomas B. L. Kirkwood is at the Institute for Ageing and Health, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE, UK.
  2. Caleb E. Finch is at the Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA.

Correspondence to: Thomas B. L. Kirkwood1Caleb E. Finch2 e-mail: Email: Tom.Kirkwood@newcastle.ac.uk
e-mail: Email: cefinch@usc.edu