Assessing senescence in Drosophila using video tracking

Geroscience approaches to increase healthspan and slow aging

For decades, researchers in the biology of aging have focused on defining mechanisms that modulate aging by primarily studying a single metric, sometimes described as the "gold standard" lifespan. Increasingly, geroscience research is turning towards defining functional domains of aging such as the cardiovascular system, skeletal integrity, and metabolic health as being a more direct route to understand why tissues decline in function with age. Each model used in aging research has strengths and weaknesses, yet we know surprisingly little about how critical tissues decline in health with increasing age. Here I discuss popular model systems used in geroscience research and their utility as possible tools in preclinical studies in aging.

Determination of the spontaneous locomotor activity in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster has been used as an excellent model organism to study environmental and genetic manipulations that affect behavior. One such behavior is spontaneous locomotor activity. Here we describe our protocol that utilizes Drosophila population monitors and a tracking system that allows continuous monitoring of the spontaneous locomotor activity of flies for several days at a time. This method is simple, reliable, and objective and can be used to examine the effects of aging, sex, changes in caloric content of food, addition of drugs, or genetic manipulations that mimic human diseases.