Worms in space Nov 23, 2009
The worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) were sent aboard the space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station in order to study the effects of muscle wasting. Astronauts are particularly prone to muscle deterioration during long stays in space and it is hoped that by studying the worms a clearer idea of how to deal with the detrimental effects of low gravity environments can be overcome. (Xinhuanet, China)
Taking Aim at Hard-to-Treat Fungal Infections Nov 20, 2009
Reeta Prusty Rao et al. A Pathogenesis Assay Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans Reveals Novel Roles for Yeast AP-1, Yap1, and Host Dual Oxidase BLI-3 in Fungal Pathogenesis. Eukaryotic Cell, (in press). (Science Daily)
Lab worms are stunned by 'phaser' Nov 19, 2009
The team started with tiny, transparent Caenorhabditis elegans nematode worms, an animal frequently employed in scientific research. Therapy using light could benefit from the control of photoswitches. (BBC News -- Technology)
US shuttle takes worms into space Nov 17, 2009
The species Caenorhabditis elegans, can sometimes be found in rubbish tips, where they feed on bacteria. There are just five more shuttle launches scheduled before the planned retirement of the fleet in 2010. (BBC News -- Americas)
Discovery In Worms Points To More Targeted Cancer Treatment Nov 12, 2009
Research on this microscopic worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) may offer a drug target for cancer treatment. (Credit: Ian Chin-Sang and Tony Papanicolaou). (Science Daily)
Discovery in worms by Queen's researchers points to more targeted cancer treatment Nov 11, 2009
Research on this microscopic worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) may offer a drug target for cancer treatment. Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans, by examining the genes in worms. (EurekAlert!)
Having A Mate Provides Evolutionary Advantage Oct 22, 2009
That's the conclusion gleaned from more than 100 mini-evolution experiments involving nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) at the University of Oregon ... Nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans). (Science Daily)
How mitochondrial gene defects impair respiration, other major life functions Sep 25, 2009
Falk's team made use of a simple model organism often studied in biology, Caenorhabditis elegans, which is a small worm called a nematode. Because mitochondria arose very early in evolution and play such fundamental roles in multicellular organisms, learning the details of how mitochondria function in C. elegans provides useful clues to understanding their function in humans. (EurekAlert!)
RNA: Protein Regulators Are Themselves Regulated Sep 14, 2009
In addition, the FMI researchers showed in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that, via regulation of degradation, it is possible to influence microRNA activity. This means that microRNAs may, after all, be involved in the regulation of rapidly occurring processes. (Science Daily)
Cancer's Break-in Tools Possibly Identified: Nematode Worm Provides Model Of Invasive Cancer Aug 26, 2009
Duke University biologist David Sherwood has spent the last several years studying the mechanics of a single cell in the developing body of a worm called Caenorhabditis elegans ... New insights into how cancer spreads have been gained by research into the so-called anchor cell (shown in pink) -- a single cell in the developing body of a worm called Caenorhabditis elegans (with basement membranes shown in green). (Science Daily)
Manipulating insulin signaling to enhance mosquito reproduction Aug 21, 2009
Previous studies in a range of organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, have demonstrated that disruption of the IIS cascade leads to decreased reproduction or sterility. In this study we demonstrate that knockdown of the IIS inhibitor PTEN can actually increase reproduction in the mosquito, at least during the first reproductive cycle. (BioMed Central)
Cannibalistic Cells May Help Prevent Infections Aug 6, 2009
The organisms included Caenorhabditis elegans, a common research worm also known as a nematode, and Dictyostelium discoideum, a soil amoeba that functions much like certain cells in the human immune system. In both cases, the animals with inactive autophagy genes fared far worse than those with active ones. (Science Daily)
Parahox cluster in ancestral bilaterian Jul 24, 2009
Conventional protostome models (Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans) are secondarily derived with respect to ParaHox genes, suffering gene loss and cluster break-up. Results. (BioMed Central)
Variation in gene expression in the early development of dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans. Jul 18, 2009
Variation in gene expression in the early development of dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans ... The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans makes a developmental decision based on environmental conditions: larvae either arrest as dauer larva, or continue development into reproductive adults. (BioMed Central)
New Actions Of Neurochemicals Discovered Jul 4, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 3, 2009) Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found... (Science Daily)
Nematode Courting Caught On Camera Jun 29, 2009
The video shows an intimate moment between two nematodes of the species Caenorhabditis elegans ... Whittaker et al. Coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups regulates male tail posture during Caenorhabditis elegans male mating behavior. (Science Daily)
Why Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespans Jun 28, 2009
Since the laboratory roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans only contains one copy, Carrano teamed up with Salk researcher Dillin, who studies aging and longevity in C. elegans. Initial experiments revealed that worms without the WWP-1 gene seemed normal but were more susceptible to various forms of stress. (Science Daily)
Curling male tails Jun 25, 2009
Coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups regulates male tail posture during Caenorhabditis elegans male mating behavior ... We studied a complex behavior of Caenorhabditis elegans, male mating behavior, which provided a model for understanding motor behaviors at the genetic, molecular as well as circuit level. (BioMed Central)
Researchers Gain Ground In Efforts To Fight Parasitic Worm Infections May 28, 2009
The new findings, available online and in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that a biochemical system that controls development and reproduction of Caenorhabditis elegans, a common research worm, also provides the same function in several parasitic nematodes, including hookworm. In these parasitic organisms, the activating molecule, called dafachronic acid, sends the necessary signals for the worms to mature from the stage in which they infect... (Science Daily)
Connections Between Diabetes And Alzheimer’s Disease Explored May 14, 2009
Michael Morcos and Harald Hutter report that the classical model organism in aging research, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), shares many similarities at the molecular level to pathological processes found in humans. C. elegans has an accessible and well characterized nervous system and features several genes homologous to human genes implicated in AD like amyloid- protein precursor, presenilins and tau. (Science Daily)
Neurons That Control Sociability In Worms Apr 19, 2009
Even the world s simplest social brain, one pair of only 302 neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans s compact nervous system, is rather complicated, it turns out. A host of genetic and environmental variables contribute to the decision-making. (Science Daily)
Worms Control Lifespan At High Temperatures Apr 18, 2009
"We've shown it's not so simple," said Kenyon, a professor in the UCSF Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and director of the Larry L. Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging at UCSF. She is renowned for her ongoing research on C. elegans (Caenorhabditis elegans) and aging ... Regulation of the Longevity Response to Temperature by Thermosensory Neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans. (Science Daily)
Scientists Show How A Neuron Gets Its Shape Apr 14, 2009
Now, by using a new microscopy technique to watch the growth of individual neurons in the microscopic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, Rockefeller University researchers are turning another deceptively simple question on its head. They asked, How long should a worm s neurons be. (Science Daily)
Research could lead to new non-antibiotic drugs to counter hospital infections Apr 9, 2009
When worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) ate the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa that were raised on low levels of phosphates, unexpected large red spots appeared in their intestinal tracts ... To test this theory, they let worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) feed on "lawns" of P. aeruginosa and Escherichia coli grown in both low-phosphate and high-phosphate media ... The PNAS paper is called "Red Death in Caenorhabditis elegans caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01." Other institutions contributing to... (EurekAlert!)
Nuclear Hormone Receptors, MicroRNAs Form Developmental Switch Apr 9, 2009
"We knew that nuclear hormone receptors were involved in stage 2 to stage 3 transitions in Caenorhabditis elegans," said Dr. Adam Antebi, associate professor in the Huffington Center on Aging at BCM and the report's senior author ... Scientists use the tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans to study such processes because it has a simple anatomy and life cycle. (Science Daily)
Structure Of Protein That Makes Cancer Cells Resistant To Chemotherapy Identified Mar 30, 2009
11, 2006) Using the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a mechanism by which cancer cells become resistant to a specific class of. . (Science Daily)
What Flies And Worms Have In Common Mar 22, 2009
The researchers compared the protein catalogue of the tapeworm Caenorhabditis elegans with that of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster ... Schrimpf et al. Comparative Functional Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster Proteomes. (Science Daily)
Mutations in genes involved in nonsense mediated decay ameliorate the phenotype of sel-12 mutants with amber stop mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans. Mar 21, 2009
Mutations in genes involved in nonsense mediated decay ameliorate the phenotype of sel-12 mutants with amber stop mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans ... Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans sel-12 presenilin gene cause a highly penetrant egg-laying defect due to reduction of signalling through the lin-12/Notch receptor. (BioMed Central)
Molecular determinants archetypical to the phylum Nematoda Mar 19, 2009
Features of these protein families were revealed through extrapolation of essential functions from observed RNAi phenotypes in Caenorhabditis elegans, bioinformatics-based functional annotations, identification of distant homology based on protein folds, and prediction of expression at accessible nematode surfaces. In addition, we identified a group of nematode-restricted sequence features in energy-generating electron transfer complexes as potential targets for new chemicals with minimal or no... (BioMed Central)
Caltech biologists find optimistic worms are ready for rapid recovery Mar 10, 2009
-- For the tiny soil-dwelling nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, life is usually a situation of feast or famine. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have found that this worm has evolved a surprisingly optimistic genetic strategy to cope with these disparate conditions--one that could eventually point the way to new treatments for a host of human diseases caused by parasitic worms. (EurekAlert!)
Diverse 'Connectomes' Hint At Genes' Limits In Nervous System Feb 20, 2009
Lichtman and Lu's work represents only the second connectome to date, following one for the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. While their task initially appeared manageable -- the entire interscutularis muscle is but a few millimeters in length -- teasing out the muscle's tangle of about 15 intricately branched and intertwined axons proved fiendishly complex. (Science Daily)
Forget The Antioxidants? Researchers Cast Doubt On Role Of Free Radicals In Aging Feb 19, 2009
Hekimi and postdoctoral fellow Jeremy Van Raamsdonk studied mutant Caenorhabditis elegans worms ... Deletion of the Mitochondrial Superoxide Dismutase sod-2 Extends Lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans. (Science Daily)
Forget the antioxidants? McGill researchers cast doubt on role of free radicals in aging Feb 18, 2009
Hekimi and postdoctoral fellow Jeremy Van Raamsdonk studied mutant Caenorhabditis elegans worms. They progressively disabled five genes responsible for producing a group of proteins called superoxide dismutases (SODs), which detoxify one of the main ROS. Earlier studies seemed to show that decreased SOD production shortened an organism's lifespan, but Hekimi and Van Raamsdonk did not observe this. (EurekAlert!)
