Why are scientists studying C. elegans?
C. elegans is a common, well-studied organism used in biomedical research as a model for human development, genetics, aging, and disease. The recent award of a Nobel Prize in Medicine to three pioneering worm researchers has demonstrated the value that has been placed on the worm as a great model organism by the scientific and medical communities. What similarities exist between C. elegans and humans? Although C. elegans is a primitive, free living (non-parasitic) organism, it shares many of the same biological characteristics found that are found in you and I. The worm is conceived as a single cell that develops, proceeding through morphogenesis (formation of the structure of an organism or part; differentiation and growth of tissues and organs during development) and growth to the adult. It has a nervous system, muscles to help it move, and a gut. It also is capable of performing very simple behaviors. It produces sperm and eggs, and reproduces, although normally as a hermaphrodite (
