As the Worm Turns

The worm turns on Helicobacter pylori.

How the Worm Turns, in Molecular Detail

Any behavior is, at its most elemental level, a coordinated series of muscle contractions. Those contractions are triggered by motor neurons, whose firing is controlled by other neurons, both excitatory and inhibitory, the whole chain set in motion by a stimulus. While the outlines of such a simple behavioral circuit have been understood for decades, the details— in particular, which neurotrans...

Muscular dystrophy: The worm turns to genetic disease

A new animal model for studying muscular dystrophy, a mutant form of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, brings the power of worm genetics to bear on the search for a cure for this disease; work on this worm has already led to the identification of a novel component that can suppress the mutant phenotype.

Anhydrobiosis: The Model Worm as a Model?

New work now shows that the dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans can survive anhydrobiotically. The genetic tractability of this model organism may be useful in studying how organisms survive when losing most or all of their water.

Crumbs turns the corner

rumbs (Crb) helps flies distinguish apical from basal in their epithelia. Now two new studies show that it is required for cell expansion independently of its specification of apical polarity. During cell expansion, the apical domain of photoreceptors elongates perpendicular to the apical–basal axis so that the domain can extend from the top to the bottom of the fly eye. The process may be cons...