Pilot Projects

Aging in the Wild: Caenorhabditis elegans

Principal Investigators: James Carey and Edward Caswell-Chen

Understanding the mechanistic basis (read genetic basis) of aging has involved assessment of aging in the model organism, C. elegans, under controlled environmental conditions in the laboratory. Despite the identification of genes involved in aging and senescence, the variation in lifespan that exists even among inbred laboratory strains is not easily explained and begs the question of environmental context. This study will examine the trajectories of mortality and reproduction in the wild and how they compare with those of the laboratory.