Worms as model for personalized medicine
Using four unrelated strains of the microscopic nematode C. elegans originating from different parts of the world, a group of worm biologists have developed a model system to study individual differences in metabolism. The use of C. elegans, a widely studied model organism, allowed the team to study the unique and complex interplay between genetics, […]
How schools of ‘microswimmers’ can increase their cargo capacity
A new study published in Physical Review Letters describes a way to increase the cargo capacity of microscopic, self-propelled droplets known as “microswimmers.” Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the Max Planck Institutefor Dynamics and Self-Organisation found that when a school of microswimmers move in the same direction inside a narrow channel, they can […]
Muddied waters: Sinking organics alter seafloor records
The remains of microscopic plankton blooms in near-shore ocean environments slowly sink to the seafloor, setting off processes that forever alter an important record of Earth’s history, according to research from geoscientists, including David Fike at Washington University in St. Louis. Fike is co-author of a new study published July 20 in Nature Communications. “Our […]