The Parasite on the Playground
Roundworm eggs, shed by stray dogs, can be ingested by children playing outside. The worm ’ s larvae have been found in the brain, experts say, perhaps impairing development. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - January 16, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: LAURA BEIL Tags: Parasites Dogs Brain Worms Playgrounds Mental Health and Disorders Clinical Infectious Diseases (Journal) SUNY Downstate Medical Center Source Type: news
FDA-approved high blood pressure drug extends life span in roundworms
(UT Southwestern Medical Center) An FDA-approved drug to treat high blood pressure seems to extend life span in worms via a cell signaling pathway that may mimic caloric restriction. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 20, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
UTSW researchers identify possible new way to treat parasitic infections
(UT Southwestern Medical Center) UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a chemical that suppresses the lethal form of a parasitic infection caused by roundworms that affects up to 100 million people and usually causes only mild symptoms. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 5, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
The humble roundworm offers hope for dementia sufferers
A study from the University of Iowa found that when worms were taught to sniff danger it protected neurons. This could lead to non-pharmaceutical treatment for dementia and Huntington's disease. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - October 17, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Worms learn to smell danger
(University of Iowa) University of Iowa researchers report that a roundworm can learn to put on alert a defense system important for protecting cells from damage. The finding could lead to a new approach for treating neurodegenerative diseases in humans caused by damaged cells. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - October 17, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Climate change could wipe out a third of parasite species, study finds
Parasites such as lice and fleas are crucial to ecosystems, scientists say, and extinctions could lead to unpredictable invasionsClimate change could wipe out a third of all parasite species on Earth, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date.Tapeworms, roundworms, ticks, lice and fleas are feared for the diseases they cause or carry, but scientists warn that they also play a vital role in ecosystems. Major extinctions among parasites could lead to unpredictable invasions of surviving parasites into new areas, affecting wildlife and humans and making a “significant contribution” to the sixth mass extinction ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - September 6, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Damian Carrington Environment editor Tags: Climate change Insects Wildlife Conservation Science Environment Animals World news US news Source Type: news
Undetected Raccoon Roundworm Parasite Infections
Study reveals raccoon roundworms (Baylisascaris procyonis) infect people more than previously assumed and create a disease risk for other animals, including humans (Source: Disabled World)
Source: Disabled World - July 24, 2017 Category: Disability Tags: Digestive Disorders Source Type: news
Undetected infection
(University of California - Santa Barbara) The raccoon that topples your trashcan and pillages your garden may leave more than just a mess. More likely than not, it also contaminates your yard with parasites -- most notably, raccoon roundworms (Baylisascaris procyonis). (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 24, 2017 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
How Roundworms Sleep
When Caenorhabditis elegans surrenders to slumber, the majority of its neurons fall silent. (Source: The Scientist)
Source: The Scientist - June 22, 2017 Category: Science Tags: Daily News Source Type: news
Worm studies investigate how grandparents' experiences can affect our genes
(University of California - Santa Cruz) Studies of human populations suggest that our health and longevity could be affected by the diets and experiences of our grandparents. But the exact nature of these effects and how they are transmitted across generations remain unclear. In Susan Strome's lab at UC Santa Cruz, research on a tiny roundworm called C. elegans is helping to solve this puzzle. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - June 22, 2017 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Living long and living well: Is it possible to do both?
(Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory) Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, are developing metrics to identify the health markers for old age in the roundworm, C. elegans, a popular model in aging research. Their research, which provides insight into the tradeoffs between lifespan and health span, is the subject of a recent paper in Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, a publication of the Gerontological Society of America. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - June 6, 2017 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Study sheds light on link between diseases like Alzheimer's and normal aging in the brain
Neurodegenerative diseases are often associated with protein aggregates, highly intractable clumps of protein. Experiments on roundworms and mouse brain extracts yielded evidence that these disease-associated aggregates can be directly induced by proteins that aggregate together during normal aging. The present study therefore opens up a new area of preventative research targeting these age-dependent protein aggregates as possible therapeutic targets. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - May 17, 2017 Category: Science Source Type: news
Study sheds light on link between diseases like Alzheimer's and normal aging in the brain
(Frontiers) Neurodegenerative diseases are often associated with protein aggregates, highly intractable clumps of protein. Experiments on roundworms and mouse brain extracts yielded evidence that these disease-associated aggregates can be directly induced by proteins that aggregate together during normal aging. The present study therefore opens up a new area of preventative research targeting these age-dependent protein aggregates as possible therapeutic targets. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - May 17, 2017 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Study of worms reveals ‘selfish genes’ that encode a toxin – and its antidote
FINDINGSA UCLA study has found that a common strain of Caenorhabditis elegans — a type of roundworm frequently used in laboratory research on neural development — has a pair of genes that encode both a poison and its antidote. The new research also revealed that if worms with the two genes mate with wild strains of C. elegans that don’t have b oth genes, their offspring who don’t inherit the antidote can’t protect themselves from the toxin — which is produced by mother worms — and die while they are still embryos.The pair of genes represents one of the clearest examples to date of a “selfish genetic ele...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - May 11, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
What roundworms can teach us about human growth
Human beings and the roundworm C. elegans have more in common than you ' d expect. Thanks to a common ancestor more than 700 million years ago humans and roundworms have a similar hormone to drive and regulate growth. By activating or deactivating this hormone scientists can stimulate or stunt the growth of the worms. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - May 3, 2017 Category: Science Source Type: news
