Nematodes helping against Lyme disease

This 2015 video says about itself:

Beneficial Nematodes For Pest Control In The Garden

Beneficial Nematodes are a natural, easy and safe way to get rid of numerous pests like grubs, fungus gnats, fleas and ticks and other pests that develop in the soil.

Translated from Silvia Hellingman and Arnold van Vliet in the Netherlands:

Sunday, May 24th, 2015

Fighting ticks by using nematodes seems a promising and environmentally friendly method. The first tests show that sixty percent of the ticks dies within ten days after they have been contacted with the minuscule worms. The coming weeks several field tests will be performed to optimize their practical application.

These ticks cause Lyme disease.

Avril Lavigne can’t hold back tears while talking about her battle with Lyme disease.

Lyme disease and Texel island: here.

The nematode worms that cause the world’s most devastating crop losses have given up on sexual reproduction and instead rely on their large, duplicated genomes to thrive in new environments, report scientists: here.

A worm atlas has been built that profiles gene readouts for every kind of cell in the animal. This is the first time this type of comprehensive profiling for a multi-cellular organism has been created. The study was conducted at a larval stage of the [nematode] roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. The resource should have many uses, such as for studies on how genetic instructions guide the formation of body parts: here.

Researchers apply machine learning to understand how potential food rewards guide the movements of nematodes, finding that the subjects combine multiple sensations into strategic behaviors that uses the minimal amount of energy: here.

Biologists have shown that gonad development varies in other nematodes relative to C. elegans. Specifically, they focused on Steinernema carpocapsae, a nematode used in insect biocontrol applications in lawns and gardens: here.

Researchers studied a gene associated with ageing in roundworms. They found that by reducing this gene’s expression, they could not only more than double the worm’s lifespan – but also improve the fitness of its offspring. The findings support an emerging new theory that we have genes that age us, and that shutting down these genes in later life could one day help us stay younger and healthier for longer: here.

An enzyme-blocking molecule can extend the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms by as much as 45 percent, largely by modulating a cannabinoid biological pathway, according to a new study: here.