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Utilizing C. elegans roundworms, Ursula Jakob and her team have been exploring the effects that oxidative stress events may have on the lifespan and quality of the observed worms — and extrapolating what that may mean for human aging and resilience.
They found that the roundworms living the longest had often experienced a natural oxidative stress event early in life. Following this discovery, Jakob and her team introduced oxidative stress to the entire population, which led to a longer and healthier life for the animals.
Jakob and her team hope that they can take what they have learned and apply it to human biology, aiming to build resilience to various disorders, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and kidney disease, to name a few.
When asked about the driving force behind her work, Jakob said, "Our main impetus is to find interventions that promote healthy aging and increase lifespan. What more could we want?"
Read more about this exciting work in the Fall 2024 issue of the LSA Magazine.
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