Skora S et al. (2013) EMBO J "Life(span) in balance: oxygen fuels a sophisticated neural network for lifespan homeostasis in C. elegans."

Zimmer M, Skora S

[EMBO J, 2013]

A key finding of modern ageing research is that our limitation in lifespan is more than the result of accumulated organismal decay. Lifespan is regulated by genetically defined chemosensory and endocrine pathways, which integrate signals that reflect the internal and external status of the animal. New findings by Liu and Cai unravel a role for the environmental gases oxygen and carbon dioxide in the regulation of lifespan homeostasis and thus a novel function of oxygen-chemosensory neurons in C. elegans.