Abstract
Oxidative stress plays an imperative role in viewing how humans respond to diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, as well as in the process of aging. Through research and experimentation of Caenorhabditis elegans, scientists can study organismal and cellular aging that is analogous to that of humans. C. elegans are used as an ideal model of study due to their eukaryotic existence, as well as the relative ease of development and growth protocol. Through C. elegans, researchers can examine relevant signaling pathways, such as those that regulate metabolism, nutrition, and stress responses. As the complete genome for C. elegans has been identified, researchers known the exact cell differentiation pattern of each cell, therefore allowing for in depth study about the responses of C. elegans to different conditions and stresses. The SKN-1 protein in this species initiates development of the digestive tracts and other mesendodermal tissues during the primary stages of C. elegans development. By studying the genetic mechanisms that are rooted in C. elegans aging, humans have the opportunity to identify new human genes, as well as the pathways associated with both disease and aging in humans.Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to Vanderbilt Undergraduate Research Journal under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (linked here). By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are available for wide dissemination at no cost to readers, with proper attribution (acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal), in educational and other non-commercial settings. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process.
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