Latest Worm Stories
University of Utah biologists found a gene that controls rhythmic events in a worm's life: swallowing food, laying eggs and pooping. If the gene is disabled, the worms can't swallow, so they die. If the gene is partly restored so the worms can swallow, they have trouble reproducing and get constipated. "We have found a gene that is important for the control of fundamental rhythms in nematode worms," says biology professor and physician Andres Villu Maricq, a member of the Brain...
An unusual relationship between bacteria and a newly discovered group of marine worms is the only known partnership (or symbiosis) which uses sunken marine mammals as its sole source of nutrition. In the September issue of Environmental Microbiology, Dr Shana Goffredi and her colleagues reveal this unique partnership between bacteria and the Osedax (bone-devouring) group of marine worms. Symbiosis, or the living together of different organisms, allows some species to live in otherwise hostile...
In WASHINGTON story headlined "Stressed-out worms die young, study finds" please read in 4th paragraph ...tested more than 100,000 nematodes... instead of ...tested more than 100 nematodes... A corrected story follows. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - How well you respond to stress predicts how long you will live, at least if you are a little worm, U.S. scientists reported on Monday. Genetically identical worms responded to stress in greatly different ways -- and those with more active stress...
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Tiny worms are taking the place of laboratory rats and mice for a Duke University scientist studying the effect of chemicals on the body. Researcher Jonathan Freedman has a $4 million contract from the National Toxicology Program to develop rapid toxicology tests on C. elegans roundworms. The worms easily could flag which chemicals might harm babies before birth, threaten brain damage in adults or otherwise create trouble, Freedman said. They may not seem like much, but...
Latest Worm Reference Libraries
Vermicompost is composting with the use of special earthworms. Red wigglers and white worms are the more common worms used, although European night crawlers can be used as well. Red wigglers can be found living in manure piles and in rotting vegetation and adapt the best in covered worm bins. Common earthworms burrow deeply and are not recommended for use in compost bins. Blue worms are commonly used in the tropics. Worms are used to decompose vegetable and food waste along with bedding...
The Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus) is a species of small, tube-building polychaete worm in the Serpulidae family. It is widely distributed throughout the world’s tropical oceans, occurring abundantly from the Caribbean to the Indo-Pacific. The worm’s common and scientific nomenclature refers to the two chromatically hued spiral structures, most prominently seen by divers. These multicolored spiral structures are actually part of the worm’s highly derived respiratory...
The Giant Feather Duster Worm (Eudistylia polymorpha) is a species of marine polychaete worm of the Sabellidae family. Its range extends along the western coast of North America, from Alaska to California. It is most commonly found in the intertidal zone in tide pools and in the neritic (coastal) zone at depths up to 1,375 feet. It is often found in groups along rocks, reefs, pilings, wharves and marinas. Its common name comes from the crown of tentacles extended when the animal is under...
The Bobbit Worm (Eunice aphroditois) is a species of aquatic polychaete worm found on the ocean floor at depths of 33 to 130 feet. It is only found in the Indo-Pacific oceanic region. This predatory organism buries its long body in gravel, mud or corals in the ocean bed, where it waits patiently for prey food to touch one of its five antennae. When touched, the worm, armed with razor sharp teeth shoots out at its attacker with such speed that it sometimes slices the prey in half. Little is...
The Giant Thorny-headed Worm (Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus) is a species of acanthocephalan parasite found in the intestines of pigs and other hoofed animals, and can occasionally appear in humans and dogs. The eggs of this parasite are usually found in scarabaeoid or hydrophilid beetles and other similar insects. Worms of this species range in size from less than four-hundredths of an inch to over 15 inches. It causes enteritis, gastritis or peritonitis in affected hosts. While it...
