Force of mortality (µ x) for cohorts of Caenorhabditis elegans (strains N2, clk-1, and daf-2) individuals maintained on nematode growth medium and OP-50 at 20°C (n = 1000, 800, and 800 for N2, clk-1, and daf-2, respectively) with survival and reproduction monitored daily. The smoothed mortality rate curves were obtained using a locally weighted regression (LOESS) procedure.