Caenorhabditis elegans News and Research

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Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode (roundworm), about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments.

Researchers track effects of epigenetic marks carried by sperm chromosomes

As an organism grows and responds to its environment, genes in its cells are constantly turning on and off, with different patterns of gene expression in different cells. But can changes in gene expression be passed on from parents to their children and subsequent generations?

20 Mar 2019

Roundworm study suggests alternatives for treatment of schizophrenia

A group of Brazilian scientists have long conducted experiments with roundworms to investigate the role of schizophrenia-linked genes in patients' response to antipsychotic drugs. The results obtained thus far point to new ways of understanding resistance to certain classes of medication.

20 Mar 2019

Rice University bioscientists reveal danger of vitamin B12 deficiency

Using roundworms, one of Earth's simplest animals, Rice University bioscientists have found the first direct link between a diet with too little vitamin B12 and an increased risk of infection by two potentially deadly pathogens.

14 Mar 2019

Study unravels microscopic mysteries in the brains of C. elegans

It's the small pieces that make the big picture, and in this case, the pieces can't be seen by the naked eye. New research at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Universit used microscopy techniques to piece together the brain of the millimeter-long Caenorhabditis elegans, revealing that their neurons fire action potentials - a spike in voltage due to neurons sending sensory information in the cell membrane.

5 Mar 2019

Increasing parent's lifespan improves fitness of offspring

Genetic manipulation that more than doubles lifespan also leads to better offspring - according to new collaborative research from the University of East Anglia and Uppsala University.

4 Mar 2019

Scientists use pulsed infrared light lasers to focus on the action of drugs

Having absolute control of the activity of a molecule in an organism. Deciding when, where and how a drug is activated. These are some of the goals expected to be reached with the so-called photoswitchable molecules, compounds that, in the presence of certain light waves, change their properties.

1 Mar 2019

Researchers describe neural mechanisms responsible for local search in hungry worms

Perpetually hungry, worms are strategic when it comes to searching for food. The microscopic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, or C. elegans, is known to spend up to 20 minutes seeking out snacks in its immediate surroundings before endeavoring to look elsewhere.

27 Feb 2019

Scientists demonstrate influence of food odors on proteostasis

The smell of food induces a variety of physiological processes in our body. Thus, the production of saliva and digestive enzymes is stimulated before the actual food intake in order to prepare the gastrointestinal tract for the upcoming digestive process.

20 Feb 2019

Cloning-free Nested CRISPR uses long DNA fragments for efficient gene editing

CRISPR is a technique that is revolutionizing biomedical research through high-precision genome editing. However, even though it allows the creation or correction of mutations consisting of a single or few nucleotides with relative ease, it still possesses limitations upon introducing larger fragments of DNA in the genome.

8 Feb 2019

Researchers discover protein involved in nematode stress response

When humans experience stress, their inner turmoil may not be apparent to an outside observer. But many animals deal with stressful circumstances - overcrowded conditions, not enough food - by completely remodeling their bodies.

14 Dec 2018

Antibiotic could protect against age-related brain diseases

An antibiotic, minocycline, can increase the lifespan of roundworms by preventing the build-up of proteins during aging, a study in the open-access journal eLife reports.

28 Nov 2018

WPI professor explores how lipids in our bodies and cell membranes affect aging, long-term health

A professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is exploring aging on the molecular level, examining how the lipids found in our bodies, particularly those in our cell membranes, change as we age, and how those changes may affect bone and muscle strength, brain health, and our propensity for age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

7 Nov 2018

Drug cocktail that increases lifespan discovered

A team of researchers led by Principal Investigator Dr Jan Gruber from Yale-NUS College has discovered a combination of pharmaceutical drugs that not only increases healthy lifespan in the microscopic worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), but also delays the rate of ageing in them, a finding that could someday mean longer, healthier lives for humans.

22 Oct 2018

Researchers demonstrate epigenetic memory transmission via sperm

A new study suggests that if the epigenetics of sperm chromosomes are altered by the environment a father experiences, then this could affect offspring’s health.

17 Oct 2018

Researchers find molecule that halts, reverts neurodegeneration caused by Parkinson's disease

The small SynuClean-D molecule interrupts the formation of the alpha-synuclein amyloid fibers responsible for the onset of Parkinson's disease, and reverts the neurodegeneration caused by the disease.

25 Sep 2018

Stress can permanently and profoundly impact connectivity of developing nerves

Scientists stunted the puberty of male worms by starving them before they underwent sexual maturation. In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, the scientists suggested that stress from starvation even days before sexual maturation prevented normal changes in the wiring patterns of key neuronal circuits, which caused adult male worms to act immature.

7 Sep 2018

Researchers identify series of molecules involved in regeneration of damaged nerves

Researchers at Nagoya University have identified the series of molecules involved in the regeneration of damaged nerves in roundworm, showing that it largely overlaps with the signals used by the intrinsic removal system to take up and process dying cells.

24 Aug 2018

Study findings shed light on fundamental feature of nerve repair

Through a study of roundworm nerve cells with severed axons, researchers at Nagoya University showed that a signaling cascade that normally functions in promoting the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells also acts in inducing axon regeneration.

24 Aug 2018

Scientists turn to C. elegans for new model of peripheral neuropathy

Studying transthyretin amyloidoses - a group of progressive nerve and cardiac degenerative diseases caused by the buildup of misfolded transthyretin proteins in the body - has long been hampered by the lack of animal models of the disease.

9 Aug 2018

Scientists discover and characterize new toxin in cholera bacteria

The bacterium Vibrio cholerae was discovered more than 150 years ago but remains as one of the main causes of bacterial infectious disease globally, especially in low-income nations where it occurs endemic, and outbreaks of cholera disease can lead to major epidemics.

26 Jun 2018