nematodes

Automated control of light-responsive nematode worms marks the first foray into the development of multicellular, biorobotic organisms.

The roundworm uses cues from visible light to help avoid eating toxic bacteria with a distinguishing hue.

The University of Washington parasite ecologist aims to understand how humans have changed the diversity and abundance of the enigmatic and misunderstood organisms.

The scientific community said goodbye to Sydney Brenner, Paul Greengard, Patricia Bath, and a number of other leading researchers this year.

See the winners of the American Society for Cell Biology’s fluorescence imaging competition.

Suppressing the natural age-related increase in neuronal excitation lengthens the lives of worms, and there are indications that the same may be true for mice and humans.

Researchers recovered eight species from the salty, alkaline environment—increasing the known biodiversity of animals in the California lake five-fold.

Asexual female nematodes use their male offsprings’ sperm to fertilize eggs, but cast away their genes.

The new data could help identify treatments for diseases ranging from river blindness to schistosomiasis.

Host slugs given Prozac to increase their serotonin levels no longer avoid parasitic nematodes, the same behavior seen in infected slugs.

When it comes to thwarting roundworms, scientists find that combining four antiparasitic drugs in smaller doses packs a greater punch than the four drugs alone.

E. coli that make indoles protect older worms, flies, and mice from frailty. 

The genomes of two species of water bears reveal clues about how they persist in extreme conditions, yet don’t resolve the animals’ debated evolutionary story.

Scientists identify the brain circuits with which newly hatched nematodes form and retrieve a lifelong aversive olfactory memory.

Researchers record the first whole-brain videos of an unrestrained animal, viewing neural activity as a roundworm moved freely around a Petri dish.

Selected Images of the Day from www.the-scientist.com

A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research

A parasitic nematode relies on a plant’s defense mechanism to invade and grow.

Scientists engineer fluorescing nematodes to project the worms’ expected lifespans through flashes of light at just three days old.