Reading the C60 - OO threads prompted me to start thinking about the model organisms available for longevity studies.
The models I know about are - yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans), fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), house mouse (Mus musculus), and brown rat (Rattus norvegicus).
Obviously, it would be great to replicate the Baati study with rats, but many here (including me) are impatient and don't have the resources to run a controlled rat or mouse study with a decent number of individuals.
I don't know how to get yeast, nematodes, or fruit flies to eat olive oil. Perhaps it can be done; I don't have experience rearing these organisms.
I do know you can get crickets to eat fatty foods (peanut butter, for example), so one could prepare a diet containing c60 -oo for them. They also have a maximum lifespan of less than 100 days. They are relatively small and don't take up much space. They have mitochondria, a liver-like organ called a fat body, and an innate immune system not too far from ours. You can also pick 'em up cheap at the pet store (but I'd breed them a round first to avoid any health issues from pet shop rearing conditions).
The cons are: they eat each other, the males fight and chirp, they hop around and could escape during feeding, cleaning. and the big problem with any model - they aren't us (for an interesting series of articles on the problems with the reliance on the mouse model, see the Slate Magazine series 'The Mouse Trap' - sorry, I can't post a link because I'm a noob here).
Yes, I d love to do this study myself , but my significant other would not appreciate it. I was thinking this might be a great science fair project for some kid out there who has a detached garage or shed and supportive parents.
Also, I think it would be great to start a section of longevity science fair project ideas high scool students could do on yeast, nematodes, files, and maybe even crickets.
Edited by lemonhead, 21 August 2013 - 02:13 PM.