When worms were limited in the amount of food they could eat, the FMO protein, which was highlighted using a fluorescent marker, lit up “like a Christmas tree…it was bright red,” noted Leiser. However, when the worms were exposed to food smells, there was considerably less activation of FMO, leading to a loss of life extension.

— Read more in Serotonin and Dopamine Modulate Aging in Response to Food Odor and Availability at Neuroscience News.