Caenorhabditi Elegans Research Paper

This experiment is to see The Affect of Caffeine on Daphnia. Daphnia is also known as a water flea. It is a distant relative of crabs and shrimps. (Marshall Cavendish, 2002) Daphnia have a hard external skeleton with jointed appendages and limbs. The head contains a large central eye which is made of two eyes joined together. Daphnia has two pairs of antennae which are used for swimming. Each daphnia has five pairs of limbs. These limbs lie in a certain space under the body bounded by the carapace. (Marshall Cavendish, 2002) A carapace is a hard upper shell or chitinous outer covering on the back of some animals. The daphnia is well preserved because of its shells which are composed of chitin. The usual size of this microorganism is about 0.2-0.3 mm; they look like flat disks. Their bodies are divided into three parts – head, thorax, and abdomen. The head is typically dome-shaped with five pairs of appendages. Among these five are two pairs of antennae; there is a small pair and a larger pair. The smaller pair of antennae serves as a sensory function and the larger one is used for swimming. The other three appendages’ purpose is to secure food they intake. (Michael Hutchins, 2003) The thorax holds four to six pairs of legs that are used for gathering food, filtering water, or grasping mates. There are over 400 species of daphnia and they are distributed worldwide. Daphnia uses their thoracic legs to produce a constant current of water; this allows them to filter food

Through my current experiences serving the less fortunate, volunteering at Etobicoke General Hospital, and participating in the Syrian Refugee Committee, the importance and benefit of scientific research has become clear. I enjoy challenges because it is through these trials that our motivation and intellect are improved. I would greatly accept the challenge The Helix Summer Science Institute offers, because I would have the opportunity to develop an understanding of the effects of genetic mutations in conserved human disease genes, and the importance and use of C. elegans as a model organism. This program is an exceptional foundational opportunity for the preparation process towards medical

Pathogens can spread widely and affect many organisms at the same time. Several organisms evolve to become immune or to resist pathogens including humans and C. elegans. In this experiment, C. elegans avoidance assay plates were analyzed to determine if the C. elegans evolved to resist the pathogen S. marcerens.

Scientist have seen that telomerase expressing clones have no difference in karyotype but have a long lifespan by 20 doublings. With this research, cells have been seen to have a very youthful looking state for much longer. A last area of study is the hypothalamus of the brain. This part of the brain controls reproduction, growth, metabolism, and aging. This is where many of the age related diseases occur. The study of this area can lead to many advancements in age related diseases that can help people live longer. Though this area of study does not have many advancements it holds promising results. Though there have been numerous advancements, many people ask the question whether people need to live longer because of an already over populated Earth.

Willcox et al. investigate a group of elderly males that could potentially influence factors in healthy human ageing by studying potential longevity candidate genes linked to the insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) pathway. The Authors state that previous research indicates that the only human gene found to be widely associated with the effects of longevity and healthy ageing is the ApoE gene. The Authors performed a study on a group of genes that were chosen for their relation to ageing phenotypes sourced from previous model organisms. The

Genetic risk factors for HS-aging have been recently identified. Unlike AD, the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) genotype is not a risk factor for HS-aging [11]. Potassium channel subfamily M regulatory

Throughout the years scientists and researchers have done many studies that pertain to how mutagens cause mutations in genes. They have also studied these mutations to see if they transfer to the next generation or whether the DNA repairs the mutation before it gets passed on. In this lab we will be looking at the mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and how it will affect our organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). EMS is known to be mutagenic and carcinogenic because it can “produce significant levels of alkylation at oxygens of guanine and in the DNA phosphate groups. It can also produce GC to AT transition mutations and vice versa. There has also been evidence that EMS is able to break chromosomes” (Sega). We hypothesize that when we expose the C. elegans to the EMS, a mutation will occur on the DNA that will cause a phenotype to occur in the organism that is different from the wild type. Our goal is to be able to locate the mutation on a gene, and match it to other kingdoms to see if they are homologous to other genes. This is beneficial to us as humans

Given the results of the experiment carried out it is concluded that the experimental gene ZK1225.1 is not involved with C. elegans functionality

Also, another important mechanism expected to lead to neuronal loss in diabetes mellitus could be due to lower insulin or insulin- like growth factor signaling which has a neuroprotective anti-apoptotic

For the majority of animals on earth, responding to chemical stimuli could mean the difference between life and death. Taste is an example of sensing chemical stimuli-however, this response is not entirely dependent on genes, as tasting something will not necessarily trigger a gene to activate. Within a simpler organism however, such as Caenorhabditis Elegans, there is a complex behavior that is mediated by three sensory neurons and transduce chemical stimuli to move muscles that move an animal forward(attraction) or backwards(repulsion). By placing these organisms on several plates which will inhibit genetic expression, and then testing chemotaxis at a later point, it is possible to determine which genes are responsible for chemotaxis. The global sample averages of the chemotaxis indexes of CEH-36 and CEH-27 are somewhat inconclusive, with a mean of 0.5815 for CEH-36 and 0.6981 for CEH-27. Overall, the results for CEH-27 are likely to show that there is a lack of genetic interference with chemotaxis where CEH-36 is less definitive.

In order to better understand aging-associated diseases, it is first necessary to define what aging is. Aging is a complex, multifactorial process of harmful mutations in cells and tissues that are accumulated over time and result in an increased risk of disease and, eventually, death (Tosato, Zamboni, Ferrini, & Cesari, 2007, p. 401). Contrary to the belief that aging can be cured through medical advances, it is scientifically accepted that, while human life expectancy has increased, the human life span has remained largely unchanged for the past 100,000 years (Tosato et al., p. 401). Therefore, future developments in aging research ought to focus on addressing treatment and prevention of major aging-associated diseases that will

Have you ever wonder what types of organisms do scientists use in the lab? I am sure what first comes to our minds are rats, and it is right, but rats are only one of them. There are many organisms used in the lab for research on a variety topics. But I would especially like to direct the attention to Caenorhabditis elegans or in a short version C. elegans. C. elegans are exemplary microscopic worms which provide countless benefits to scientists within the laboratory and in the study of human diseases.

The neurological deficits of aging may be viewed from a developmental perspective. That is, the decline in functional efficiency and deterioration of highly specialized non-dividing neuronal cells is the end point of a maturation process that occurs throughout adult life. Involution to senescence is a normal, inevitable, and inexorable physiological march; the end phase of which is expressed in generally predictable and specifically unpredictable ways. The earliest of these developmental changes occurs long before senescence and the effects of these physiological events quietly accumulate toward expression late in life.

The first introduction of Caenorhabditis elegans (C.elegans) was in the early 1960s, by Sydney Brenner who used it as a model system to explore the genetics dissections of development, neurobiology and behaviour; he won the Nobel Prize in 2002 for his work on C.elegans. The C.elegans model specialises in having a short life span, retaining a low maintenance cost and its ability to grow the organism in a large population, and a small concern for animal rights issues. Each of these features is a key part to the power of C.elegans being used as a tool for understanding the functional genomics of diseases.

Ever since I can remember, I have been obsessed with mechanical systems. Every birthday and Christmas I asked for a remote control car or plane, only to end up taking them apart the same day. I was passionately curious about how and why the world worked. My mother, a professor of Biology, recalls my insatiable curiosity and that I was always asking “why?” As I grew older that interest shifted more towards the mystery of life; how was it possible that everything we know is the result of a chance organization of molecules to form complex cell networks? It was about this time that I was filling out college applications and I decided to major in Bioengineering and minor in physics. I felt that this would enable me to understand the biological