'Lifespan Machine' Investigates the Causes of Aging

Scientists still don't understand the exact processes that occur to cause aging. They know for sure when it ends, but the timing of death is determined by factors that are, in many cases, statistically random. Now, researchers have found patterns in the randomness that provide clues into the biological basis of aging.

In this latest study, the researchers found a surprising statistical regularity in how a variety of genetic and environmental factors affect the life span of the Caenorhabditis elegans worm. These findings suggest that aging does not have a single discrete molecular cause but is instead a systematic process involving many components within a complex biological network. Perturb any nod in the system, and you affect the whole thing.

More specifically, the researchers wanted to study the life span dynamics at the population level. That's why they created the Lifespan Machine, which is a device comprising 50 off-the-shelf flatbed scanners purchased from an office supplies store. Each scanner was retooled to record 16 petri dishes every hour, totaling 800 dishes and 30,000 worms.

The life span distributions provided considerably more information than just changes in average life span. The research team measured variations arising in ostensibly identical individuals, looking at how many worms died young versus how many made it to old age under each condition. This particular view is important when it comes to capturing the dynamics and randomness in the aging process.

The researchers found an unexpected uniformity among the curves that revealed how certain conditions caused death. In fact, the various interventions seemed to affect the duration of life in the same way across all individuals in the same population, regardless of whether chance or randomness had a short or long life in store for them.

"Life span is a whole-organism property, and it is profoundly difficult to study it molecularly in real time," said Walter Fontana, one of the researchers, in a news release. "But by discovering this kind of statistical regularity about the endpoint of aging, we have learned something about the aging process that determines that endpoint."

The findings are published in the journal Nature.

Related Articles

Caffeine and Your Heart: Does It Really Affect This Organ?

Researchers Examine Why Alzheimer's Targets Certain Parts of the Brain

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).