Insects such as fruit flies, ants, wasps, and bees are commonly used as models in aging research due to their short lifecycles and genetic similarities to humans. Key hallmarks of aging that are studied using insect models include changes in mitochondria, loss of protein homeostasis, and damage accumulation. Recent research has investigated anti-aging drugs such as resveratrol found in red wine and rapamycin, with resveratrol shown to provide benefits by stimulating anti-aging proteins and rapamycin demonstrating limited effects through tumor suppression in mice. New publications continue to provide insight into aging processes and potential reversal in model organisms.

1. Insects as Model in Aging Research
By, Bharati Singh

2. Outlines
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What is aging
Insects used
Hallmarks of aging
Anti-aging drugs
New research published

3. Aging is characterized by a progressive loss of
physiological integrity, leading to impaired function
Insects used in aging research
• Fruit fly(Drosophilla melanogaster)
• Ant (Formicidae)
• Wasp (Hymenoptera)
• Bees (Apis)

4. Why Drosophilla in ageing
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Share many of the same gene as human
Life cycle is so short
Similar brain process
Genome fully sequenced
Ease of culture
An ideal organism to study aging as the gene that regulate a fly’s
lifespan have been found to closely parallel to those in human

5. Type of research into aging
Class1: investigating aging
Class2: working to slow aging
Class3:working to reverse aging
Aging research has experienced remarkable advanced over
recent years
Cancer and aging share common origin

6. Hallmarks of aging

7. Age related changes in mitochondria

8. Loss of proteostasis (protein homeostasis)
Carlos et al, Max planck institute for biology of ageing, Germany, 2013

9. Resveratrol does provide anti-aging benefits ,Study
shows (journal of science,2011)
• Found in red wine
• Naturally occuring
polyphenol antioxidant
• Stimulates production
of SIRT1, (sirutin
protein)
Red wine

10. Rapamycin: limited anti-aging effect (Journal of
clinical investigation, July 25,2013)
• Known to increase life span in mice
• Seems to be related to rapamycin’s supression
of tumors
• Current efforts to develop therapies is to
target age related disorder

11. New research published
• Scientists offer new insight into neuron
changes brought about by aging (PLOS
ONE,BMC genomics, 22 jan, 2014)
• In Anti-Aging Breakthroughs, Scientists
Reverse Aging in Mice, Worms (cell, 23
Dec,2013)