An article in Science Magazine titled “Smell Less, Live Longer,” published in April, features the research of 2005 BIG Grantee Scott Pletcher, PhD, on the connection between olfactory neurons and life length. Dr. Pletcher and his colleagues investigated a factor—olfaction—that contributes to the fact that a low-calories diet can extend lives. They found that when fruit flies smell live yeast while on a diet, they will die sooner. Searching for the specific odor responsible for this, they began by testing the odor receptor for carbon dioxide. Dr. Pletcher and his team discovered that flies without a CO2 receptor lived 30% longer than normal flies, even when they did not undergo the olfactory experiment. The scientists concluded that blocking the perception of CO2 fools a fruit fly into thinking that there is no food. The body reacts by conserving energy by slowing down metabolism and storing more fat, which then allows the fly to live longer. The next step is to research whether physiology and metabolism can be altered in humans, thereby extending lives, through similar olfactory restriction. Dr. Pletcher is an assistant professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and received a 2005 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Award.
