Roundworms are a colloquial designation for nematodes, a highly diverse phylum of unsegmented, bilaterally symmetrical pseudocoelomate animals characterized by a cylindrical body, complete digestive tract, and a chitinous cuticle that undergoes molting. As a research topic, roundworms encompass free-living and parasitic species that serve as models in developmental biology, genetics, neurobiology, ecology, and host–pathogen interactions, with Caenorhabditis elegans being the most extensively studied. Investigations focus on their conserved molecular pathways, reproductive strategies, environmental adaptations, and impact on human, animal, and plant health, including their role in soil ecosystems and as agents of helminthic disease.
Halalaimus is a microscopic nematode genus commonly found in sediment on the seafloor. It lives 1–5 cm below the sediment surface and grazes on bacteria or organic materials in the sediment.
Plants & Animals
Dec 18, 2025
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Nematodes discovered in the Great Salt Lake belong to at least one species that is new to science, and possibly two. A University of Utah research team has published a new paper characterizing the tiny roundworm. The team ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 12, 2025
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A crew of tiny worms will be heading on a mission to the International Space Station in 2026 that will help scientists understand how humans can travel through space safely, using a Leicester-built space pod.
Space Exploration
Nov 20, 2025
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UC Davis nematologists, including Valerie Williamson, professor emerita in the Department of Plant Pathology, and associate professor Shahid Siddique, Department of Entomology and Nematology, have long wondered how a plant-parasitic ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 19, 2025
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A moose in Minnesota stumbles onto the road. She circles, confused and dazed, unable to orient herself or recognize the danger of an oncoming semitruck. What kills her is the impact of 13 tons of steel, but what causes her ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 15, 2025
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In a study published in Science Advances, a team of UC Davis researchers tracked the movement of fluorescent particles inside the cells of microscopic worms, providing unprecedented insights into cellular crowding in a multicellular ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 11, 2025
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When the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans gets caught by its fungal predator Arthrobotrys oligospora, it doesn't just wriggle endlessly—it suddenly "freezes," stopping all movement and feeding as if going into a deep ...
Ecology
Sep 9, 2025
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Researchers from Academia Sinica, Taiwan and the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany, have revealed how the nematode gene nhr-66 controls the production of cuticular collagens that enable predatory fungi to ...
Evolution
Sep 2, 2025
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Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of a roundworm used extensively in biological research, opening a new pathway for synthetic biologists to build and test genetic changes in a multicellular animal species. The ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 15, 2025
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An international team led by EPFL has discovered a powerful anti-aging pathway in roundworms, revealing how boosting the cell's lysosomes can help clear waste and promote healthy aging.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 1, 2025
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