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.

Scientists discover new biological mechanism of insulin signaling

In a discovery that may further the understanding of diabetes and human longevity, scientists at Scripps Research have found a new biological mechanism of insulin signaling.

25 Feb 2020

Researchers discover glial cells that control stress response, extend lifespan in worms

While many of us worry about proteins aggregating in our brains as we age and potentially causing Alzheimer's disease or other types of neurodegeneration, we may not realize that some of the same proteins are aggregating in our muscles, setting us up for muscle atrophy in old age.

23 Feb 2020

MDI Biological Laboratory will use African turquoise killifish model to study aging

The study of therapies and interventions to expand healthy human lifespan has been limited by a lack of animal models: traditional vertebrate models such as the mouse live too long to get rapid results, while the most popular model, a roundworm called C.elegans that lives for only three weeks, is rungs away from humans on the evolutionary ladder.

16 Jan 2020

Parkinson’s disease could be prevented by gut microbes

One common gut organism that helps us digest food better could also be a powerful instrument in preventing or reversing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a recent study. The changes are due to the ability of this bacterium to delay the build-up of a toxic protein involved in this in the disease condition, or even to eliminate the toxin altogether.

14 Jan 2020

Common plasticizer leads to fertility problems in roundworms

A new study published 9th January in PLOS Genetics by Mónica Colaiácovo of Harvard Medical School and colleagues reports that the most commonly used plasticizer, diethylhexyl phthalate, leads to fertility problems by causing an excess number of breaks in the DNA during egg production, and then interfering with the repair systems that fixes the breaks.

2 Jan 2020

One Health approach that targets both humans and animals can reduce costs

Promoting healthcare strategies that target both human and animal populations at the same time can save money, participant time and result in a two-for-one stop for health care services.

25 Nov 2019

Common gout medications can kill elephantiasis-causing parasites

Treatment with two common FDA-approved gout medications have been found to cause rapid death to the parasites that cause elephantiasis.

3 Oct 2019

Study: Toxocara roundworm infection is accompanied by complex molecular signaling cascade

Neurotoxocarosis (NT) occurs in humans when larvae of the Toxocara roundworm migrate into the central nervous system. That infection is accompanied by a complex molecular signaling cascade, including changes to anti-inflammatory lipid molecules, researchers now report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

From PLOS ONE 25 Sep 2019

Researchers identify compounds that influence time to sexual maturity and lifespan

Every day, people are exposed to myriad chemicals, both natural and synthetic. Some of these compounds may affect human physical development, but testing them directly on people would be grossly unethical.

20 Aug 2019

Researchers identify epigenetic mechanism that may strongly influence healthy aging

Researchers at the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine have identified an epigenetic mechanism that appears to strongly influence healthy aging.

9 Aug 2019

Water treatment could protect 800 million from Giardia infections

Parasitic roundworm infections affect 800 million people across the globe, but thanks to water treatment, it can lead to a significant 18-percent decrease in cases.

6 Aug 2019

Water treatment appears to be most effective at reducing roundworm infections

Roundworm infections can be reduced significantly simply by improving the treatment and quality of drinking water in high risk regions, according to an international team of researchers led by Tufts University.

3 Aug 2019

Researchers discover gene linked to healthy aging in worms

People with the same lifespan do not necessarily have the same quality of life. As we live longer, extending quality of life -- "healthspan" -- is gaining importance.

12 Jul 2019

Study reveals first complete wiring diagram of an animal's nervous system

In a study published online today in Nature, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine describe the first complete wiring diagram of the nervous system of an animal, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, used by scientists worldwide as a model organism.

4 Jul 2019

Learned avoidance behavior can be inherited for multiple generations, say Princeton researchers

Princeton University researchers have discovered that learned behaviors can be inherited for multiple generations in C. elegans, transmitted from parent to progeny via eggs and sperm cells.

7 Jun 2019

International research collaboration uses FDA-approved drugs to slow aging in nematodes

An international research collaboration that includes the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has discovered that aging in nematodes (worms) can be slowed and even reversed by a number of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, findings that have the potential to extend human lifespan.

30 May 2019

Researchers identify new anti-aging compounds among FDA-approved drugs

Researchers from Gero, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences collaborated to derive a transcriptomic signature of aging, which they confirmed using large transcriptomic databases.

23 May 2019

Research on repetitive worm behavior may shed light on repetition in humans

Repetition can be useful if you're trying to memorize a poem, master a guitar riff, or just cultivate good habits.

13 May 2019

New study provides better understanding on safety of deworming programs

A new study has identified no major differences between the microbiomes of people infected with roundworm or hookworm and uninfected peers.

23 Apr 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