Studying stasis to learn about aging

Closely related species can have wildly different lifespans — but why is that so? One strange but well-established fact is that animals that enter states of dormancy, such as daily torpor or hibernation, live much longer compared to closely related species. Curious to know how these animals might be pressing pause on aging, researchers in Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin's lab have developed a way to induce a state of stasis in animals that don't normally experience periods of dormancy. Their work confirms that stasis can help slow down not only physical signs of aging, but also the accumulation of markers that bind to DNA and are associated with age. Although people don't hibernate, a better understanding of hibernation may lead to advancements in treating age-related diseases.