Inside STAT: The unsung rotifer is helping us untangle the biology of aging

A YOUNG FEMALE ROTIFER. (KRISTIN GRIBBLE/MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY)

We're familiar with the usual lineup of model organisms: mice, rats, roundworms, and fruit flies. And as well as they have served for research, one scientist is on a mission to preach the gospel of the rotifer, a common tiny aquatic organism. To Kristin Gribble, these creatures and their genetic makeup, lifespan, and largely asexual nature make them a good candidate to study aging. Rotifers have also evolved to withstand a host of conditions, from boiling temperatures to a lack of water altogether. And as much as Gribble wants people to embrace rotifers, “I do have to spend a portion of my talk every time explaining what the heck a rotifer is,” says Gribble, who's based at Marine Biological Laboratory on Cape Cod. STAT's Eric Boodman has more here.