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International research team seeks to unravel flatworm regeneration

Planarian flatworms are only a few millimeters up to a few centimeters in length, live in freshwater and are the object of intense research, because they possess the extraordinary ability to regenerate...

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Study of planarian hormones may aid in understanding parasitic flatworms

A study of peptide hormones in the brain of a seemingly primitive flatworm reveals the surprising complexity of its nervous system and opens up a new approach for combating a major parasitic disease,...

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From a single adult cell, flatworm crafts a new body

A single adult cell from one of the most impressive masters of regeneration in the animal kingdom – the planarian – is all it takes to build a completely functional new worm, researchers have learned....

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Heads or tails? Worm with abundant ability to regenerate relies on ancient...

(PhysOrg.com) -- Most people don’t think worms are cool. But the tiny flatworm that Northwestern University scientist Christian Petersen studies can do something very cool indeed: it can regenerate...

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Researchers discover ancient symbiosis between animals, bacteria

Marine shallow water sandy bottoms on the surface appear desert-like and empty, but in the interstitial space between the sand grains a diverse fauna flourishes. In addition to bacteria and protozoa...

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From worm to man

Our bodies are perfectly capable of renewing billions of cells every day but fail miserably when it comes to replacing damaged organs such as kidneys. Using the flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea—famous...

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Immortal worms defy aging

Researchers from The University of Nottingham have demonstrated how a species of flatworm overcomes the ageing process to be potentially immortal.

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The origins of a genetic switch

Cilia, microscopic whip-like organelles that protrude from the surface of many cell types, are almost ubiquitous. They are present in all eukaryotes—organisms whose cells have a nucleus—and have...

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Explainer: What are stem cells?

In a paper published in Cell yesterday, scientists from the US and Thailand have, for the first time, successfully produced embryonic stem cells from human skin cells.

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Study reveals disease-causing parasites in dead otters

Research undertaken by the Cardiff University Otter Project has revealed a number of disease-causing parasites in the bodies of dead otters. The findings were revealed at the BBC Summer of Wildlife...

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Brazilian zoologists discovered the first obligate cave-dwelling flatworm in...

Typical cave-dwelling organisms, unpigmented and eyeless, were discovered in a karst area located in northeastern Brazil. The organisms were assigned to a new genus and species of freshwater flatworm...

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Where in the UK are New Zealand flatworms and what are they up to?

Members of the public are being asked to help University of Aberdeen researchers pinpoint just how far a species, that wound up in the UK unintentionally, has travelled across the country.

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Genomes of parasitic flatworms decoded

Two international research teams have determined the complete genetic sequences of two species of parasitic flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, a debilitating condition also known as snail fever....

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Flatworms' minimalist approach to cell division reveals molecular...

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have discovered that planarians, tiny flatworms fabled for their regenerative powers,...

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Behavior of parent organisms may influence genes passed on to next generation

Timing is everything, and if there was ever a scientist whose legacy was tarnished by bad timing, it was Jean Baptiste Lamarck. The French naturalist lived from 1744 to 1829 - and published his own...

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Planarian genes that control stem cell biology identified

Despite their unassuming appearance, the planarian flatworms in Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien's lab are revealing powerful new insights into the biology of stem cells—insights that may...

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Solving the mysteries of regeneration

Few animals can rival the amazing regeneration abilities of the flatworms known as planarians: When the worms' tails or heads are cut off, they grow new ones, and even a tiny piece of planarian tissue...

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Tissue loss triggers regeneration in planarian flatworms

Unlike humans, planarian flatworms have the remarkable ability to regrow any missing body part, making them an ideal model with which to study the molecular basis of regeneration.

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Snail fever expected to decline in Africa due to climate change

The dangerous parasite Schistosoma mansoni that causes snail fever in humans could become significantly less common in the future a new international study led by researchers from the University of...

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Solitude breeds despair: Worm injects sperm into own head

From the shooting of sperm darts to post-coital cannibalism, there is not much that surprises researchers into the weird ways of animal sex.

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Biologists induce flatworms to grow heads and brains of other species

Biologists at Tufts University have succeeded in inducing one species of flatworm to grow heads and brains characteristic of another species of flatworm without altering genomic sequence. The work...

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Deadly flatworm's skin rejuvenation may explain its long-term survival in humans

A parasitic flatworm that infects hundreds of millions of people in the developing world is able to survive in the bloodstream for decades by constantly renewing its skin - a mechanism that could...

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Barack Obama is officially now a parasite (it's an honor)

It's no Nobel Peace Prize, but Barack Obama has a new honor to brag about. Scientists have named a parasite after him—and there's no worming out of it.

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Researchers reveal bioelectric patterns guiding worms' regenerative body plan...

Researchers have succeeded in permanently rewriting flatworms' regenerative body shape by resetting their internal bioelectric pattern memory, causing even normal-appearing flatworms to harbor the...

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Visual processing capabilities of flatworm found to be more complex than thought

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with the National Centre for Biological Sciences in India has found that the visual processing capabilities of the planarian flatworm are much more complex than has...

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