Aging linked to cellular interactions that occur across generations
Friday, April 25, 2014 - 17:30
in Biology & Nature
By studying the reproductive cells of nematodes -- tiny worms found in soil and compost bins -- a researcher identified the Piwi/piRNA genome silencing pathway, the loss of which results in infertility after many generations. This study also found a signaling pathway -- a series of molecular interactions inside cells -- that could be tweaked to overcome infertility while also causing the worms to live longer adult lives.