Reductive stress on life span extension in C. elegans

Recently, Schulz and colleagues have contributed to the ongoing controversy on the unproven role of oxidative stress in the aging process in their well-performed study 'Glucose restriction extends Caenorhabditis elegans life span by inducing mitochondrial respiration and increasing oxidative stress' (Cell Metab 2007, 6: 280–293). Here, we suggest an alternative hypothesis that reductive stress can prevent calorie-restriction induced life span extension. We draw attention to this condition as an explanation for some contradictory observations including the deleterious effects from antioxidants.