Cost-effective method for gene silencing is featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
...ed that they could insert short RNA molecules into worms and shut down specific genes. Today, scientists routinely use this powerful method, termed RNA interference, to study the functions of specific genes in mammalian systems. In order to conduct these experiments, scientists generally rely on chemica...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...an D. T. Samuel This week, Gabel et al. show that worms have a good understanding of high school physics e...n without reading the textbook. The authors placed worms within an electric field and observed, as expected, that the worms crawled toward the negative pole....Sea anemone genome provides new view of our multi-celled ancestors
...ained many ancestral genes that flies and nematode worms apparently lost over time. The genes of flies and worms also have been jumbled up among the chromosomes, making it hard to track genes through evolution. ...Marine worm opens new window on early cell development
...ells adopt different roles during development. The worms used in the UO study originated from the Mediterra... or many bristles that come off protrusions of the worms bodies, which consist of fluid-filled tubes within tubes. These worms are bilaterally symmetrical wi...Modern brains have an ancient core
...s system of vertebrates. Also insects and nematode worms rely on the secretion of hormones to transmit info...then vertebratetype hormones were found in annelid worms and molluscs, indicating that these centres might be much older than expected. Scientist Kristin Tes...International team to honor 30th anniversary of deep-sea vent discovery in Galpagos
...s shrimp that can see in the dark, beauties: giant worms of exquisite design, and curiosities: snails with plates of armor." The most well known animal affiliated with vents is the giant tubeworm found around Pacific Ocean vents. The fastest-growing marine invertebrate known, it can grow to six feet, la...5.9 million award gives UK aging research a new lease on life
...ical mechanisms of ageing in fruit flies, nematode worms and mice, and in particular the role of insulin signalling. Recent research has revealed that changes to single genes can make animals live longer, by maintaining health and delaying the onset of ageing-related diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and ...Small-scale agricultural changes may help eradicate widespread disease
...y by three major species of Schistosoma, parasitic worms that lay eggs in the bowels of humans and animals. The disease kills about 20,000 people each year, mainly from cirrhosis of the liver or from bladder cancer. In tropical and subtropical regions, the number of people infected with schistosomiasis is ...Left-right wiring determined by neural communication in the embryonic worm
...issue of Cell, the researchers show that embryonic worms have a system of gap junctions -- "broadband" communication channels through which cells pass many kinds of molecules and electrical signals -- that allow growing neurons on the left and right to communicate with each other, a system that dissolves a...Newly identified mechanism for silencing genes points to possible anti-cancer strategies
...ic gene. We tested this idea in human cells and in worms and found it to be the case in both. Interestingly, this not only supported our hypothesis, but to see it in such different organisms also suggested that the mechanism involved has long been conserved in evolution."...Asexual worm quickly adapts to soil contamination
...daptations in the nematode Acrobeloides nanus. The worms from contaminated soil live longer and lay more eggs under polluted conditions than the worms from unpolluted soil. Dutch-sponsored researcher Agnieszka Doroszuk demonstrated this in her study i...Fly and worm models to teach researchers about human biology and medicine
...esearcherscan also conduct experiments in flies or worms to validate thebiological relevance of the functional elements they identify. Bycombining and comparing data from worm, fly and human, researchers canlearn far more about the functional elements than if they analyzed thegenome of just one organism. "...Salk researchers discover first gene that specifically links calorie restriction to longevity
...tely and observing whether the genetically altered worms still showed enhanced longevity when calorie-restricted. Loss of only one of the genes, a gene encoding the protein PHA-4, negated the lifespan-enhancing effect of calorie-restriction in worms. And, when researchers undertook the opposite experime...News tips from ACS Chemical Biology
...nds of cancers. How small invertebrates like worms and flies can be used in high throughput screening ...Salk scientists hammer out a pathway that promotes muscle cell survival in mice
...ed, all mammals have SIK1, not just mice, and even worms and fruit flies use variations of the enzyme. And as Montminy adds, "Application of this same pathway over and over across species further emphasizes its importance."...Minuscule molecules pack a powerful punch
...ect in mice: previous knockout studies in nematode worms suggested that most microRNAs were not essential. Our findings were dramatically different." The effects of the miR-155 knockout swept across the immune system. The team showed that, although knockout of miR-155 did not appear to affect normal grow...Researchers find level of special protein is critical to proper formation of muscles
...rom experiments using tiny, genetically engineered worms at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galve... acid components. But the UTMB study, done using worms of the species Caenorhabiditis elegans (also known as C. elegans), showed that an over-supply of UNC...The origin of the brain lies in a worm
...scientists for centuries. Vertebrates, insects and worms evolved from the same ancestor, but their CNSs are...e last common ancestor of vertebrates, insects and worms already had a centralised nervous system resembling that of vertebrates today. Many animals have ev...Weizmann Institute scientists discover a key player in embryonic muscle development
...nimals, from microorganisms such as yeast, through worms and flies, and up to humans. This means that the protein fulfills a function necessary for life but also, say the scientists, because of this conservation, studies conducted on this protein in fruit flies can teach us quite a bit about how it works i...A 'traffic light' for neurons means 'go' for improving brain research
...s collaborators in Germany were able to cause tiny worms called C. elegans to stop swimming while their gen...ome experiments, exposure to blue light caused the worms to wiggle in ways they weren't moving while unperturbed. When the lights were turned off, the worms ...