Nasonia vitripennis
Scientists have discovered a secret wasp power that allows them to wage aging. Humans are already blinking their eye to this trick.
A study last week at PNAS revealed that the Vespa-Joia (Nasonia vitripennis) has the ability to make an “interval” in its initial phase of life as a larva, in a phenomenon known as diarpausaleading to a slower aging rate to adulthood.
This is the first study to directly demonstrate that the epigenetic clock of an insect can be modulated by the environmental conditions of early life, not just the passage of time.
An epigenetic clock is a biological chronometer that measures the apparent age of your body at the molecular level, measuring changes in DNA methylation. Epigenetic clocks accompany this to estimate the biological age of an organism, regardless of its chronological age.
As details in this investigation, the wasps obtained a 29% slower molecular aging than others who had not made this break and lived significantly longer.
“It is as if the wasps that paused early in their lives had returned from the bank with extra time. This shows that aging is not unchanging. It can be delayed by the environment, even before the beginning of adulthood,” said the study leader, Eamonn MallonProfessor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Leicester, in statements to the same magazine.
The wasps proved to be epigenectically older shortly after diapause (sixth day), probably due to changes in methylation when they wake up, but on day 30 were, On average, 2.7 biologically younger days than individuals in the control group.
It doesn’t seem like much, but if we convert this period of time into human years, we see that it is a significant slowdown of the aging process.
Humans already blink the eye
This study is the first to show the long -term effects of the type of dormant state where some animals may enter.
Although diapause is not applicable to humans, scientists point out that understanding what happens to molecular insects is a step important in anti -aging research.
These wasps are an important model for gerontology studies, because, as New Atlas explains, unlike many other invertebrates, they have a functional DNA methylation system – like humans.
“Understanding how and why aging occurs is a great scientific challenge. This study opens new ways for research, not only in wasp biology, but also in the broader question of whether one day we can create interventions to slow aging in its molecular roots,” Mallon said.
The investigators were able to see that molecular slowdown had clear biological pathways that boosted it. Some, such as those involving insulin and nutrient detection, These are ways that humans also haveand this is now being studied by gerontologists.
“With their genetic tools, measurable aging markers and a clear connection between development and life expectancy, Nasonia vitripennis It is now a rising star in the aging investigation. This little wasp can have great answers on how we can lock aging“, Saltra Mallon.
