Sex And Lifespan Linked In Worms

In findings published in Nature, scientists have discovered that smaller, but more structurally diverse chemicals are a significant part of a living thing's biology. When food is scarce or colonies become crowded, young worms stop developing normally and enter the dauer stage. In this form they can live, without eating or reproducing, for months -- about ten times longer than the worm's normal lifespan. When the dauer finds greener pastures, it finally develops into an adult and resumes its normal aging process.

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