Caenorhabdis elegans (C. elegans, for short) is a worm that is about 1 millimeter in size. It lives in the soil, eats bacteria, and lives for about 2 weeks. At first glance, this little critter does not seem exciting. However, I am quickly finding out this week that C. elegans is at the front line of science research in the fight against human diseases.
You see, C. elegans is what biologists call a model organism. Studying genetic diseases in humans is really hard because humans live for a long time and are all very different from each other. Also, it's not really acceptable to do experiments on humans and their DNA. So instead of human studies, biologists use organisms like this worm.
You might think, "what can a worm teach us about humans?" Actually, they can teach us a lot - just think of all the things they have in common with us: they are animals, they are made of cells, they have digestive, nervous, and reproductive systems. Most of all, worms and humans evolved from the same ancestor, so even though we look different, we share a lot of genes.
Take a look at the video of C. elegans moving across the plate:
When you are ready, check out this introduction to the worm. I'll post more about the experiments we are doing tomorrow.
1 comment:
I couldnt hear what exactly the lady asked in the clip ..however, im kind of confused abbout how doo they possibly experiment in worms?? and that too that small!...?
and the worms were different sizes ...does the size depend on their age? for instance if a worm is 2 weeks old which how long it lives would be longer than the one that has just born ?
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