Open Lab Notebook
All experiments pre-registered before execution. Protocols, hypotheses, and predicted outcomes are public before any organism is touched. This page reflects the current experimental program in real time.
Physarum polycephalum
Sodium butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid and HDAC inhibitor, will extend the plasmodial growth phase and delay sclerotium formation in Physarum polycephalum, consistent with epigenetic rejuvenation of gene expression patterns associated with active cellular metabolism.
Physarum polycephalum is a tractable model for epigenetic intervention studies: it cycles predictably through growth and dormancy phases, its gene expression during those transitions is well characterized, and HDAC inhibition has known effects on chromatin accessibility across organisms. This experiment establishes an epigenetic modification baseline in a non-mammalian system before moving up the complexity ladder.
Artemia franciscana
Fisetin supplementation will extend lifespan and improve stress tolerance in Artemia franciscana, consistent with selective clearance of senescent cells and reduction of SASP-mediated systemic inflammation in this model.
Fisetin demonstrated statistically significant improvement in human functional outcomes in the TROFFi and PROFFi trials, presented at MOASC 2026. Understanding the mechanism in a tractable, short-lived model organism is the necessary step toward designing refined intervention protocols. Artemia franciscana reaches sexual maturity in days and has a lifespan under typical lab conditions that enables rapid iteration across dosage and timing variables.
Lemna minor
Fisetin supplementation will extend frond production longevity and delay chlorophyll degradation in aging Lemna minor populations, providing evidence for senolytic activity across a divergent biological system.
Running fisetin experiments in parallel across both Artemia franciscana (EXP-002) and Lemna minor (EXP-003) tests whether the compound's effects generalize across taxonomically distant organisms with different senescence machinery. Convergent results across divergent systems would significantly strengthen the mechanistic case before moving to mammalian models. Lemna minor is particularly tractable: it reproduces clonally, requires minimal infrastructure, and shows measurable aging signatures in colony dynamics.
Turbatrix aceti
Trimethylglycine (TMG) supplementation will extend lifespan in Turbatrix aceti by supporting methylation capacity, with measurable effects on reproductive span and age-associated behavioral decline.
Methylation capacity declines with age across organisms. TMG is a methyl donor that supports the SAM cycle, potentially buffering age-associated hypomethylation. Turbatrix aceti is an established nematode model with a short, measurable lifespan and well-characterized aging phenotypes. This experiment completes the founding series by covering a mechanistically distinct pathway (methylation support) alongside the epigenetic and senolytic threads in EXP-001 through EXP-003.