In this episode, we dive into a new version of WormGazer as described in a recent GeroScience paper. This implementation automates movement monitoring in C. elegans populations as a rapid healthspan measure, offering a shortcut to detect ageing interventions and trade-offs.

Highlights include: • Monitoring multiple Petri dishes in parallel with cameras and image analysis over 7–14 days  • Showing that most functional decline happens in the first week of adulthood  • Validating with age-1(hx546) mutants, which remain active longer but move more slowly early on  • A dose-response test with sulfamethoxazole (SMX) where movement improvements are detectable within 7 days, compared to 40 days needed for traditional lifespan assays  • The benefit: non-invasive, scalable, and faster detection of ageing effects and negative trade-offs 

📖 Based on the research article: “Rapid measurement of ageing by automated monitoring of movement of C. elegans populations”

Giulia Zavagno, Adelaide Raimundo, Andy Kirby, Christopher Saunter & David Weinkove Published in GeroScience (November 2023) 

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00998-w 

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