Category Archives: Sensory Perception

Carbon Dioxide and Lifespan in Drosophila

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My first post to this blog began with a fascinating study by Scott Pletcher that found odor from yeast can accelerate the ageing of dietary restricted Drosophila.  His group recently published another study that adds to our understanding (1), which I summarize below. The investigators chose carbon dioxide (CO2) to study because of its known role in behavioral signaling in insects, so it was speculated that it may mediate the perception of food availability; fruit produce it as well as live yeast. Read more [...]

The confounding role of sensory perception in calorie restriction and ageing research

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My first post to this blog will begin with a thought provoking paper on how the olfactory system fits in to the longevity promoting effects of calorie restriction. Calorie restriction is the most studied and reliable way to extend secondary and maximal lifespan, tested in many species since the 1930's up to recently in rhesus monkeys and preliminary human data. Why the mechanisms of calorie restriction have been so well conserved throughout species is still an enigma; species in natural settings Read more [...]