The Secret to Slowing Down Aging Could Come From a Surprising Source

Newsweek

5 days ago

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A new study suggests that an insect could hold clues to slowing the pace of biological aging.
Researchers at the University of Leicester have discovered that jewel wasps can dramatically extend their lifespans by undergoing a natural developmental pause known as diapause.
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal that this pause slows the "epigenetic clock"—a molecular marker of aging that tracks chemical changes in DNA.
The species is an emerging model for aging research because, unlike many other insects, it has a functioning DNA methylation system similar to humans.
When mothers were exposed to cold and darkness, their larvae entered diapause, effectively pressing a biological "pause button."
Stock image: A wasp.
Stock image: A wasp.
Photo by Marta Fernandez / Getty Images
The results were striking: wasps that had undergone diapause lived more than a third longer as adults. Their molecular markers of aging ticked 29% more slowly than those of wasps that developed normally.
"We usually think of aging as life slowly falling apart, like a bike rusting in the rain," study author Eamonn Mallon told Newsweek in an email.
"But our study hints that aging might be more like a badly planned journey, with checkpoints you can actually delay. If a tiny wasp can hit pause on its biological clock by going into dormancy, maybe there are ways to do something similar in more complex animals.
"It's early days, but it's definitely food for thought, especially if you're hoping to age a little more gracefully."
Why It Matters
Understanding how and why organisms age remains one of science's biggest challenges. By showing that early-life environmental factors can slow the pace of molecular aging, the Leicester team has opened new avenues for anti-aging research.
The study's evidence that the epigenetic clock can be slowed in an invertebrate raises the possibility that environmental factors—or eventually medical interventions—might one day delay biological aging in humans.
What to Know
The jewel wasp's diapause was triggered under controlled conditions of darkness and cold, mimicking seasonal survival strategies.
Scientists found that even after normal development resumed, the benefits persisted: the wasps' slower pace of epigenetic aging was linked to conserved biological pathways, including those involving insulin and nutrient sensing. These same pathways are already the target of several human anti-aging studies.
This makes jewel wasps a rare invertebrate model capable of bridging laboratory research with potential human health applications.
"When people hear 'wasps,' they usually imagine something buzzing angrily around a picnic," Mallon told Newsweek.
"Nasonia couldn't be further from that, it's tiny, just a couple of millimeters long and completely harmless to humans. You'd struggle to notice one, let alone get stung."
Mallon noted that for flies, Nasonia is "pure nightmare fuel."
He said it was a, "parasitoid wasp, which means the female drills into a fly pupa, injects it with venom to kill it and then lays her eggs inside," he said.
"Her offspring grow up happily feeding on the corpse from the inside out. So while I don't need to worry about getting stung, the flies definitely should."
What People Are Saying
"This is more than an academic curiosity," Mallon said.
"We're starting to explore how these findings might actually help in the search for interventions that slow ageing, or improve late-life health.
"That's the idea behind Vitality Labs, a new initiative aimed at turning insect models like Nasonia into powerful tools for drug discovery. [...]
"The hope is to take insights from tiny wasps and build something with big impact."
What's Next
The findings position jewel wasps as a key model for testing whether targeted manipulation of the epigenetic clock can improve health and lifespan.