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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Surveying Low-Cost Methods to Measure Lifespan and Healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: May 18, 2022
Gender, immunity and the regulation of longevity
1School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK. r.c.may@bham.ac.uk
Abstract:
For humans and many other animals, gender is a fact of life. Most individuals are born either male or female and their sex will have an enormous influence on their behaviour, physiology and life history. In this review, I consider the effect gender has on lifespan. In particular, I discuss the role played by behaviour, immunity and oxidative damage in determining sex-dependent differences in longevity. I consider existing explanations for the effect of gender on lifespan and how these explanations fit together. Finally, I expand on the recent suggestion of a key role for the insulin/IGF-1 signalling pathway in regulating sex-dependent differences in lifespan and I highlight a number of areas for future investigation.
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