Category: Uncategorized

DYNAMIC LANGUAGE. “Our data show that C. elegans can engage in dynamic tailoring of the ascarosides that it has produced. This dynamic tailoring enables the worm to respond rapidly to changing environmental conditions and modulate the nature of its chemical message without having to synthesize new ascarosides de novo.” https://lnkd.in/dQ48vr2 View in LinkedIn

PREVAILING DOGMA. “There is no evidence for human-like language syntax in any nonhuman species.” (Chomsky) https://lnkd.in/eHTtV3v View in LinkedIn

MORE THAN PHEROMONES. “The nematode C. elegans secretes ascarosides as pheromones to induce development of the dauer larval stage at high population densities, as well as to control various behaviors, including male attraction to hermaphrodites, hermaphrodite attraction to males, avoidance, foraging behavior, and adult aggregation.” https://lnkd.in/dQ48vr2 View in LinkedIn

DARWIN KNEW. Worms have been mapped, counted, weighed, divided into species. We have ground them up to measure their chemistry, poisoned them in the soil to count their numbers, measured their impact on soil turnover, but really, we know next to nothing about this plentiful creature, let alone how to speak worm. But early indications show that they are far more complex than anyone ever thought, except Darwin (in his 1881 book, The formation of Vegetable Mould by the Action of Worms). https://lnkd.in/exyGWjD View in LinkedIn

DARKER MOTIVES. “The team also plans to continue deconstructing the language they have found among nematodes. For example, Sternberg wonders, how many different combinations of chemicals mean "food," or "mate," or "attack"? If the scientists can crack the code in terms of what different blends mean to different species, they can begin to interfere with the actions of the nematodes that wreak havoc across the world—leading to better eradication of plant pests, as well as human and animal parasites.” https://lnkd.in/d6Gc9fp View in LinkedIn

POISONED BUT NOT UNDERSTOOD. Despite the fact that nematodes (a type of worm) are immensely prevalent, and gather in large communities to mate and feed, barely a single publication can be found on how they communicate with one another. We barely give them credit for their complex societies. More is known about how to poison them that about their ecology. https://lnkd.in/efXjHUb View in LinkedIn

THE MOLECULAR HEART. "We can now say that many—maybe all—nematodes are communicating by secreting small molecules to build chemical structures called ascarosides," says Sternberg, whose past research in C. elegans found that those worms secrete ascarosides both as a sexual attractant and as a way to control the social behavior of aggregation. "It's really exciting and a big breakthrough that tells us what to look for and how we, too, might be able to communicate with this entire phylum of animals." https://lnkd.in/d6Gc9fp View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE. We are far from cracking the language of birds, dolphins, whales and monkeys, despite their overt vocalizations. It turns out that we know more about ant, bacterial and worm communication than all those other big creatures put together. It is inherently true that any creature with a complex society must have an associated language. It turns out, surprising to some, that worm-speak has both syntax and modular structure. View in LinkedIn

ALPHABET SIZE UNKNOWN. “The researchers have only just begun to identify what these messages are. As you heard, adding one more chemical to the signal for “go away” changes the meaning to “come here.” It's still unknown how big the worms' “alphabet” of signaling chemicals is, or how many different chemicals may be used in a single message. It's clear, though, that worm language may be extremely different from ours, but it's built on one similar principle, which is that it's better to rearrange a smaller set of signals than to come up with a new signal for everything you want to say.” https://lnkd.in/eQAQ5eZ View in LinkedIn

WORM SYNTAX. “Scientists already knew that nematodes communicate with each other using chemical signals. This study, however, found that those chemicals have their own syntax, or rules for arranging elements into different meanings. In other words, the worms don't just use one chemical for each possible message. They combine two, three, or more chemicals at a time, and each combination has a different meaning, just like letters and words.” https://lnkd.in/eQAQ5eZ View in LinkedIn