Guest guest Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 A team at the Medical Institute has been giving antidepressants to roundworms--but wait, please keep reading anyhow. It turned out that when the worms--C. elegans, a tiny species often used in biology experiments--were given the antidepressant mianserin, they lived about a third longer. Why? Were the worms happier? They're only about a millimeter in length, on average, and they didn't have much to say. But the researchers-- Petrascheck, Xiaolan Ye and Buck--say the medication may have the same benefit as caloric restriction, which has been shown in many species to slow the effects of aging. Buck et al have been trying 88,000 different compounds on the roundworms to see if they can increase longevity; they've found 115 so far. (http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/buck.html) They report on the effects of mianserin in this week's edition of Nature. Most doctors will caution that caloric restriction has not been clearly proven as a life-lengthener in us humans, but it's drawn researchers and believers--take a look, for instance, at the website of The Calorie Restriction Society. Buck's team hopes to find chemical compounds that have the same effect. For now, a strictly non-scientific thought: enjoy Thanksgiving. The roundworms only live about three weeks anyhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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