Key to Curing Obesity May Lie in Worms That Destroy Their Own Fat

piggy submitted, created time 4 weeks 2 days (www.sciencedaily.com)

A previously unknown mutation discovered in a common roundworm holds the promise of new treatments for obesity in humans, McGill University researchers say. Their study was published Dec. 3 in the journal Nature.

In lean times, a normal Caenorhabditis elegans worm goes into a form of suspended animation called "dauer" that slows its metabolism and allows it to survive for extended periods without food.

"When they go into dauer, these worms radically alter their metabolism," said Dr

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Beyond Recognizing Odors, Single Neuron Controls Reactions in Worms

piggy submitted, created time 2 months 5 days (www.sciencedaily.com)

ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2008) — Babies will smile when they catch the scent of vanilla, but a whiff of rotting meat will send them into fits. From people to mice and flies to worms, animals of all kinds are born with likes and dislikes thanks to the evolutionary wisdom collected in their genes. But new research shows that some preferences are still surprisingly flexible at even the most basic level — that of the sensory neuron itself — and that our nervous system may be even more adaptable than we thought

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Don't Judge a Worm by its Color

jerry submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

The differences between a tiger and a lion are easy to spot. But even to the trained eye, two species of earthworms can be tough to tell apart. Indeed, what was previously thought to be one species of common garden worm may in fact be four, according to research published online 8 October in Molecular Ecology. The surprising findings, say the ecologists who authored the report, may have implications for the use of pesticides in agriculture...

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Eyeless Worm Senses Light

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 4 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Discovery of light-responsive neurons in a nematode may hold clues about eye evolution.

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How Worms Protect Their Chromosomes

Worm-eating fungus trapped in amber

Marine worms chow down on cow bones

jane2007 submitted, created time 1 year 4 weeks (www.nature.com)

Weird whale-bone eaters can survive on more than just whale. Now it seems that several species of the Osedax worm can dine on cow carcasses as well.

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Worms may keep multiple sclerosis at bay

Hecate submitted, created time 1 year 11 months (www.nature.com)

It seems that roundworms may mitigate multiple sclerosis. The study was performed in Argentina, on twenty-four people with MS, half of whom became infected with parasites over the course of four years. The infected half hadsignificant fewer brain lesions and a dramatically lower rate of relapse.

This was not a blind study and there were only twelve subjects, so while people are saying that this supports the hygiene hypothesis, no one's jumping and screaming. I would love to see more work done on this, but I would not want to be the one recruiting volunteers.

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