24
October 2002
Ageing: The old worm's tale
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a well-established model for studying ageing, but relatively little is known about the details of its physiological decline with age. Herndon et al. have observed many individual C. elegans as they age, and present an analysis of the factors that influence tissue decline. They find that the worm's progressive muscle deterioration is similar to the loss of muscle mass and strength common in middle-aged humans, while the C. elegans nervous system remains structurally intact.
Stochastic and genetic factors influence tissue-specific
decline in ageing C. elegans
LAURA A. HERNDON,
PETER J. SCHMEISSNER, JUSTYNA M. DUDARONEK, PAULA A. BROWN, KRISTIN M. LISTNER,
YUKO SAKANO, MARIE C. PAUPARD, DAVID H. HALL & MONICA DRISCOLL
Nature
419, 808–814 (2002); doi:10.1038/nature01135
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Ageing: The old worm turns more slowly
THOMAS
B. L. KIRKWOOD & CALEB E. FINCH
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.
Nature 419, 794–795 (2002); doi:10.1038/419794a
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