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.

Researchers demonstrate the utility of AI in identifying neural degeneration

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated the utility of artificial intelligence (AI) in identifying and categorizing neural degeneration in the model organism C. elegans. The tool uses deep learning, a form of AI, and should facilitate and expedite research into neural degeneration.

24 Sep 2020

TRA-1 gene determines the sex of roundworms

Biological sex is typically understood in binary terms: male and female. However, there are many examples of animals that are able to modify sex-typical biological and behavioral features and even change sex.

11 Aug 2020

Study offers new possibilities for developing anti-aging drugs

KAIST researchers have been able to dial up and down creatures' lifespans by altering the activity of proteins found in roundworm cells that tell them to convert sugar into energy when their cellular energy is running low.

31 Jul 2020

USC scientists may have found a path toward increasing human lifespan

Scientists at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences may have found the beginnings of a path toward increasing human lifespan.

11 Jul 2020

Diet and gut microbiome affect outcomes of chemotherapy

What we eat can affect the outcome of chemotherapy – and likely many other medical treatments – because of ripple effects that begin in our gut, new research from the University of Virginia suggests.

4 Jun 2020

A new treatment option for activating cellular defenses against neurodegenerative disease

Talk about motherly instincts: Biologists at the University of Iowa have learned that female roundworms can alert their future offspring of dangers they will encounter when born, and the mothers pass on these warnings even before the offspring have been conceived.

19 May 2020

KU Leuven study uncovers how signaling molecule plays key role in learning process

Neurobiologists at KU Leuven have discovered how the signalling molecule Neuromedin U plays a crucial role in our learning process.

29 Apr 2020

Active ingredient from parasite larvae could help treat asthma

The larvae of the roundworm Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri (Hpb) need a very special environment in order to survive: They have to invade the mucosal layer of the intestine in rodents, the only place where they can then develop into adult worms capable of reproduction.

24 Apr 2020

Sushi parasites increased over 280-fold in 40 years

A new study published in the journal Global Change Biology in March 2020 on the occurrence of certain worms in raw or undercooked seafood, in the form of sushi, sashimi, nigiri, etc., reports an increase in the number of parasites by over 280 times over the last 40 years. This could have dramatic effects on the health of both humans and marine mammals, both of which may accidentally ingest the worm.

19 Mar 2020

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