Wayland Town Crier 2/4/15: Wayland scientist involved in revealing study. A study of long-lived mutant C. elegans by UMass Medical School scientists shows that the genetically altered worms spend a greater portion of their life in a frail state and exhibit less activity as they age than typical nematodes. These findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest genes that increase longevity may not significantly increase healthy lifespan, and point to the need to measure health as part of aging studies going forward.