Cold keeps worms young — and scientists just found the chemistry that explains it

Why does a chill make so many creatures live longer? Researchers at the University of Cologne's CECAD excellence cluster, working in the tiny worm C. elegans and in human cells, have traced a metabolic pathway switched on by cold that protects the cell's protein-folding machinery — the housekeeping whose failure drives diseases like Huntington's and ALS. Best of all, they didn't need the cold itself: giving two natural compounds, BH2 and tyrosine, copied some of the benefit and extended the worms' lifespan even at warm temperatures. Published in Nature, it is far too early for a 'longevity pill' — but it is a concrete starting point for treatments that borrow cold's benefits without the shiver.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation