Geneticist Thomas Johnson, now at the University of Colorado, showed that altering a single gene, called age-1, doubled the worms' term of life to one month.

FORBES: Researchers are unlocking the mysteries of aging.

The worms, whose official genus name is Osedax, are about 1 inch (3 centimeters) long and were discovered on a whale carcass in 2002.

MSN: Zombie worm has no mouth �� but it feasts on whale bones