Caenorhabditis elegans (worms)

Worms can be used to understand biological processes in humans. Despite being small, worms share several features with people:

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• Like people, worms have muscles, nerves, a gut and a circulatory system

• Worms also convert food to energy, like us. When people are hungry we walk to the shops for food - worms also purposefully move towards food

• Many molecular and metabolic processes that are key to health in humans also work similarly in worms

• Humans have ~25,000 genes and worms have ~19,000 genes

• Up to 80% of genes in worms are similar to human genes

Experiments on Earth using C. elegans have led to important discoveries and Nobel Prize awards

Here are some C. elegans facts - match the missing words to the facts:

• C. elegans are small, transparent multicellular organisms

• Adult C. elegans are approximately     in length

• They have two sexes: males and self-fertilising hermaphrodites

• One hermaphrodite can produce           offspring

• C. elegans have short life cycles: it takes          for an egg to reach adulthood

• C. elegans live for

2-3 weeks

1 mm

300-350

2-3 days