Roundworm News and Research

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Roundworm infection, or toxocariasis, is a zoonotic disease — a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Dogs and cats are the definitive hosts for the roundworm species that commonly cause human disease.

Huffington Post series of opinion pieces examines NGO priorities for G8

The Huffington Post is running "a series of blogs by leading NGOs to call attention to a range of issues that should be raised at the G8 summit at Camp David in rural Maryland from May 18-19," according to the news service. The following summarizes some of the posts published this week.

18 May 2012

Disruption of key cellular functions produces physiologic and behavioral responses

Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research teams, along with a group from the University of California at San Diego, have discovered that animals have a previously unknown system for detecting and responding to pathogens and toxins. In three papers published in the journals Cell and Cell Host & Microbe, the investigators describe finding evidence that disruptions to the core functions of animal cells trigger immune and detoxification responses, along with behavioral changes.

16 Apr 2012

Access to, use of sanitation systems cuts odds of worm infection in half, study review shows

When sanitation systems are available and used, the odds of contracting one of a group of diseases, known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH), is cut in half, according to a systemic review and meta-analysis published this week in PLoS Medicine, Examiner.com reports (Herriman, 1/25).

30 Jan 2012

Neuronal energy deficits may contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Turning off a protein that helps cells balance energy increases animal mobility and reduces the death of nerve cells that control movement in animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a study in the January 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings may one day guide new directions for the treatment of the progressive neurodegenerative disorder, for which there is currently no cure.

18 Jan 2012

Researchers crack structure and function of malarial protein

A biology lab at Washington University has just cracked the structure and function of a protein that plays a key role in the life of a parasite that killed 655,000 people in 2010.

7 Jan 2012

Studies identify genes and small molecules against protein conformational diseases

Two related studies from Northwestern University offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer, cystic fibrosis and type 2 diabetes.

7 Jan 2012

ASBMB names Yale scientist as winner of inaugural Alice and C.C. Wang award

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has named Elisabetta Ullu, professor of internal medicine and cell biology at the Yale University School of Medicine, the winner of the society's inaugural Alice and C.C. Wang award.

29 Dec 2011

Researchers reveal what cells respond to anesthesia in C. elegans

Physicians use inhalation anesthetics in a way that is incredibly safe for patients, but very little is known about the intricacies of how these drugs actually work in children and adults. Now, researchers have uncovered what cells respond to anesthesia in an organism known as the C. elegans, according to a new study from the Seattle Children's Research Institute. C. elegans is a transparent roundworm used often in research.

23 Dec 2011

FLI, IZW partner to begin ageing research project in 2012

Jena`s Leibniz Institute for Age Research - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) and Berlin`s Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) from Germany are jointly starting a project for ageing research in 2012.

16 Dec 2011

Considering varying extent to which genes are turned on or off can help develop personalised, predictive medicines

The vast majority of genetic disorders (schizophrenia or breast cancer, for example) have different effects in different people. Moreover, an individual carrying certain mutations can develop a disease, whereas another one with the same mutations may not. This holds true even when comparing two identical twins who have identical genomes. But why does the same mutation have different effects in different individuals?

8 Dec 2011

Simple roundworm may serve as ideal skin wound healing lab model

The lowly and simple roundworm may be the ideal laboratory model to learn more about the complex processes involved in repairing wounds and could eventually allow scientists to improve the body's response to healing skin wounds, a serious problem in diabetics and the elderly.

18 Nov 2011

Researchers gain insight on how roundworm's brain operates as it moves

Using new optical equipment, a team of 11 researchers put roundworms into a world of virtual reality, monitored both their behavior and brain activity and gained unexpected information on how the organism's brain operates as it moves.

4 Oct 2011

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientist wins NIH Director's Early Indpendence Award

Carissa Perez Olsen, Ph.D., a Weintraub Scholar in the Basic Sciences Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is the recipient of the National Institutes of Health Director's Early Independence Award, announced today. She is among the first group of 10 junior U.S. investigators to receive the honor.

1 Oct 2011

Freiburg researchers receive European Research Council Starting Grants

Marta Artal Sanz, Thomas Brox, Winfried Römer, and Oliver Schilling from the University of Freiburg have been selected for one of the most prestigious European grants for young researchers: The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded them a total of 5.8 million euros in ERC Starting Grants for new projects.

2 Sep 2011

Scientists discover genetic switch to prevent neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists at Northwestern University report a surprising discovery that offers a possible new route for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In a study of the transparent roundworm C. elegans, they found that a genetic switch in master neurons inhibits the proper functioning of protective cell stress responses, leading to the accumulation of misfolded and damaged proteins.

25 Aug 2011

Flatworms provide new insight into organ regeneration, evolution of mammalian kidneys

Our bodies are perfectly capable of renewing billions of cells every day but fail miserably when it comes to replacing damaged organs such as kidneys. Using the flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea-famous for its capacity to regrow complete animals from minuscule flecks of tissue-as an eloquent example, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research demonstrated how our distant evolutionary cousins regenerate their excretory systems from scratch.

10 Aug 2011

Scientists study how nervous system translates sensory information into coordinated motor output

Escape responses are some of the most studied behaviors by neurobiologists who want to understand how the brain processes sensory information. The ability to evade predators plays a vital role in the process of natural selection.

30 Jul 2011

Heartworm medication Ivermectin prevents malaria transmission in Africa

A cheap, common heartworm medication that is already being used to fight other parasites in Africa could also dramatically interrupt transmission of malaria, potentially providing an inexpensive tool to fight a disease that kills almost 800,000 people each year, according to a new study published in the July edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

7 Jul 2011

Study: Dyslexia gene controls cilia in brain neurons

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that a gene linked to dyslexia has a surprising biological function: it controls cilia, the antenna-like projections that cells use to communicate.

20 Jun 2011

Research provides new insights into how cilia are assembled on the cell surface

Body cells detect signals that control their behavior through tiny hairs on the cell surface called cilia. Serious diseases and disorders can result when these cilia do not work properly.

9 Jun 2011