CBC - Mutant worms defy aging theory

Worms that were genetically modified by McGill University researchers not only survived exposure to a banned poison, they lived even longer than normal worms, challenging scientists' understanding of the aging process.

Dr. Siegfried Hekimi and his student Dr. Wen Yang, who are in the Montreal university's biology department, planned to test the so-called “free radical theory of aging” by genetically modifying wild worms in a lab to accelerate production of free radicals — toxic molecules generated as a byproduct of oxygen use.