If starved early in life, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans develops into an environmentally resistant form, the dauer larva, at the second of its four molts. This physiologically dormant stage can be maintained for at least sixty days, although the normal lifespan of the worm under usual laboratory conditions is about twelve days. After normal growth is resumed, by restoring feeding to the worms, the subsequent normal lifetime is independent of the length of the dauer stage - implying that dauer larvae do not age. Dauer larvae will be gamma-irradiated to find out if an external insult can cause aging in this stage, as measured by lifespan after resumption of normal growth. The dauer stage will be maintained for varying periods of time and various gamma-ray doses will be used. This research should shed light on the relative contributions of external and internal factors in the aging process.