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.

Vitamin pills can do more harm than good

Vitamin supplements are a billion-dollar industry. We want to stay healthy and fit and help our bodies with this. But perhaps we are achieving precisely the opposite?

26 Nov 2013

Researchers develop novel system to image worm brain activity

A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and The Rockefeller University in New York has developed a novel system to image brain activity in multiple awake and unconstrained worms. The technology, which makes it possible to study the genetics and neural circuitry associated with animal behavior, can also be used as a high-throughput screening tool for drug development targeting autism, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and other brain disorders.

18 Nov 2013

Locomotion of C. elegans worm to make big difference in biomedical research

One might wonder why researchers would even care about the nuances of the one-millimeter long nematode worm, let alone take the time to study them. But the answer is simple: they can provide powerful insights into human health and disease.

16 Oct 2013

Researchers identify gene that orchestrates important branching of nerve fibers

Our ability to detect heat, touch, tickling and other sensations depends on our sensory nerves. Now, for the first time, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a gene that orchestrates the crucially important branching of nerve fibers that occurs during development. The findings were published online today in the journal Cell.

11 Oct 2013

Life-prolonging effect of vitamin niacin demonstrated in roundworms

Who would not want to live a long and healthy life? A freely available food supplement could help in this respect, scientists from ETH Zurich have demonstrated in roundworms. Vitamin B3 - also known as niacin - and its metabolite nicotinamide in the worms' diet caused them to live for about one tenth longer than usual.

1 Oct 2013

Researchers develop new imaging technique to study function of entire nervous systems

A major aim of today's neuroscience is to understand how an organism's nervous system processes sensory input and generates behavior. To achieve this goal, scientists must obtain detailed maps of how the nerve cells are wired up in the brain, as well as information on how these networks interact in real time.

10 Sep 2013

Biologists discover gene responsible for development, reproduction and ageing process

Biologists at the University of Fribourg have been looking at a threadworm gene which also occurs in humans. This gene could be central to a genetic system which is responsible for development, reproduction and the ageing process.

30 Aug 2013

Wiring diagram of retinal neurons: The first step toward mapping the human brain

The human brain has 100 billion neurons, connected to each other in networks that allow us to interpret the world around us, plan for the future, and control our actions and movements. MIT neuroscientist Sebastian Seung wants to map those networks, creating a wiring diagram of the brain that could help scientists learn how we each become our unique selves.

8 Aug 2013

Seven named recipients of GSA poster awards at 19th International C. elegans Meeting

Six graduate students and one undergraduate were named as recipients of Genetics Society of America poster awards at the 19th International C. elegans Meeting, held June 26 on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles.

12 Jul 2013

Scientists find new links in gene networks that control movement

The idea that worms can be seen as waveforms allowed scientists at Rice University to find new links in gene networks that control movement.

2 Jul 2013

Queen Mary mathematicians describe functioning of the brain

Mathematicians from Queen Mary, University of London will bring researchers one-step closer to understanding how the structure of the brain relates to its function in two recently published studies.

4 May 2013

Scientists compare neuronal network connections in 2 worm species

Researchers in the group of Ralf Sommer at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tuebingen, Germany, have for the first time been able to identify neuronal correlates of behaviour by comparing maps of synaptic connectivity, or "connectomes", between two species with different behaviour.

19 Jan 2013

Germ cell removal may promote longevity

The gonad is well known to be important for reproduction but also affects animal life span. Removal of germ cells - the sperm and egg producing cells - increases longevity of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms were a mystery. Now scientists at the Cologne-based Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, have discovered that germ cell removal flips a "molecular switch" that extends the life span by using components of a "developmental clock".

18 Dec 2012

Highlights for December 2012 issue of GSA’s Genetics journal

Listed below are the selected highlights for the December 2012 issue of the Genetics Society of America's journal, Genetics.

5 Dec 2012

Lasers manipulate neurons in worms' brains

In the quest to understand how the brain turns sensory input into behavior, Harvard scientists have crossed a major threshold. Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers have been able to take over an animal's brain, instruct it to turn in any direction they choose, and even to implant false sensory information, fooling the animal into thinking food was nearby.

24 Sep 2012

Caltech biologists gain new insight into migrating cells

At any given moment, millions of cells are on the move in the human body, typically on their way to aid in immune response, make repairs, or provide some other benefit to the structures around them. When the migration process goes wrong, however, the results can include tumor formation and metastatic cancer. Little has been known about how cell migration actually works, but now, with the help of some tiny worms, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have gained new insight into this highly complex task.

21 Sep 2012

Scientists demonstrate automated worm sorter for biological research

Research into the genetic factors behind certain disease mechanisms, illness progression and response to new drugs is frequently carried out using tiny multi-cellular animals such as nematodes, fruit flies or zebra fish.

20 Aug 2012

Nematode worms help identify potential cancer targets

Through novel experiments involving small nematode worms, scientists from Wyoming have discovered several genes that may be potential targets for drug development in the ongoing war against cancer. Specifically, researchers hypothesize that inhibiting these genes could reverse certain key traits associated with cancer cells.

10 Aug 2012

Effect of spaceflight on C. elegans could help it to live longer

The effect of spaceflight on a microscopic worm - Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) - could help it to live longer.

8 Jul 2012

New spin to understanding of relationship between Alzheimer's disease and diabetes

A new spin to our understanding of the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, which could point to a therapeutic target for both diseases, is published in a research report in the June 2012 issue of the journal Genetics.

15 Jun 2012