Death is slow. Slower than we thought.

Discovery takes a long look at a slow death… watching life leave cell by cell… bit by bit:

David Gems from the Institute of Health Aging at University College London, who led the study, explained:

“We’ve identified a chemical pathway of self-destruction that propagates cell death in worms, which we see as this glowing blue fluorescence traveling through the body. It’s like a blue grim reaper, tracking death as it spreads throughout the organism until all life is extinguished.”

Scientists now cannot revive every single cell in a body, once it’s aged out of commission.

But if the worm study is any indication, researchers might be able to stop the calcium signaling biochemical spread of death under other non-aging-related circumstances.

So there’s hope.