Asking the age-old questions

Control of lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans by the DAF-2 insulin-like sig naling pathway requires daf-16. which encodes a member of the forkhead fami ly of transcription factors. A new study provides evidence that DAF-2 negat ively regulates DAF-16 activity by promoting its retention in the cytoplasm . But, constitutive targeting of DAF-16 to the nucleus is not sufficient to extend lifespan, revealing a new layer of complexity in the genetic contro l of aging in the nematode.