In this episode, we rewind to one of biology’s biggest plot twists: RNA interference (RNAi). Scientists found that injecting double-stranded RNA into Caenorhabditis elegans could silence genes powerfully and precisely—far beyond anything single strands could achieve.

This game-changing discovery revealed:

• How dsRNA triggers targeted gene shutdown

• Why only a few molecules can silence thousands of cells

• How gene silencing spreads across tissues

• The first clues toward RNA-based therapies that would change medicine forever

📖 Based on the research article:

“Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans”

Andrew Fire, SiQun Xu, Mary K. Montgomery, Steven A. Kostas, Samuel E. Driver & Craig C. Mello.

Published in Nature (1998).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1038/35888

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more whole-organism stories that changed the world!

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 [email protected]

In this episode, we uncover how Caenorhabditis elegans males pick the right mate — by literally feeling for it!

Researchers discovered that body stiffness, controlled by special furrow collagens, acts as a key mechanical cue for contact-mediated mate recognition.

We discuss:

• How males detect species, sex, and reproductive stage through touch

• Why body stiffness and surface signals must work together for successful mating

• Experiments using ruptured worms, chemical treatments, and even 3D-printed bionic worms to test mechanical cues

• Why mating is not just about scent or sight — it’s about how a partner feels

📖 Based on the research article:

“Body stiffness is a mechanical property that facilitates contact-mediated mate recognition in Caenorhabditis elegans”

Jen-Wei Weng, Heenam Park, Claire Valotteau, Nathalie Pujol, Paul W. Sternberg & Chun-Hao Chen.

Published in Current Biology (2023).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.020

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more quirky stories at the crossroads of mechanics, behaviour, and evolution!

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 [email protected]

How does a tiny worm coordinate complex escape behaviour? In this episode, we dive into how the neurotransmitter tyramine triggers rapid, coordinated escape in Caenorhabditis elegans. Researchers uncovered that tyramine activates a newly discovered tyramine-gated chloride channel, LGC-55, which suppresses head movements and promotes sustained backward locomotion after anterior touch.

We explore:

• How tyramine acts as a classical inhibitory neurotransmitter in C. elegans

• The critical role of LGC-55 in controlling head movement and reversal length during escapes

• Why tyramine’s control of multiple motor outputs is vital to escaping predatory fungi

• How tyramine reshapes neural network dynamics to bias the worm toward rapid retreat

📖 Based on the research article:

“A Tyramine-Gated Chloride Channel Coordinates Distinct Motor Programs of a Caenorhabditis elegans Escape Response”

Jennifer K. Pirri, Adam D. McPherson, Jamie L. Donnelly, Michael M. Francis & Mark J. Alkema.

Published in Neuron (2009).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2009.04.013

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more on neuromodulation, escape circuits, and whole-organism behaviour!

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 [email protected]

Why don’t fast-growing worms end up giants and slow ones stay tiny? In this episode, we explore how Caenorhabditis elegans uses a clever trick: coupling growth rate with developmental speed to keep body sizes uniform.

Live imaging reveals that worms with faster growth develop quicker, while slower growers take their time — cancelling out size differences. Instead of strict size checkpoints (like many cells use), C. elegans uses a “folder” strategy, fine-tuned by an internal genetic oscillator.

We cover:

• Why worms don’t follow traditional “adder” or “sizer” models

• How growth and development are linked by a biological clock

• How tweaking this oscillator shifts final body size

• Why this simple coupling helps worms beat random size divergence

📖 Based on the research article:

“Coupling of growth rate and developmental tempo reduces body size heterogeneity in C. elegans”

Klement Stojanovski, Helge Großhans & Benjamin D. Towbin.

Published in Nature Communications (2022).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29720-8

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more stories where physics, biology, and evolution collide!

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 [email protected]

In this episode, we explore a real-world predator–prey arms race: how Caenorhabditis elegans uses its anterior touch response to escape predacious fungi. Species like Drechslerella doedycoides use constricting hyphal rings to trap nematodes in soil. But thanks to mechanosensory neurons and fast reflexes, C. elegans larvae can sense the noose and back out — if they’re fast enough.

We dive into:

• The mechanics of fungal ring traps and the escape window before closure

• How C. elegans suppresses head movement and reverses direction to evade capture

• Why touch-insensitive and tyramine signalling mutants get caught more often

• How coordination of motor programmes evolved under selective pressure from fungal predators

📖 Based on the research article:

“The C. elegans Touch Response Facilitates Escape from Predacious Fungi”

Sean M. Maguire, Christopher M. Clark, Jennifer K. Pirri, Mark J. Alkema.

Published in Current Biology (2011).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.06.063

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more whole-organism insights at the edge of neuroethology, evolution, and behaviour.

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 [email protected]

How do predatory nematodes avoid cannibalising their own offspring? In this episode, we explore a remarkable study that uncovers a peptide-based self-recognition system in Pristionchus pacificus. This system hinges on a single hypervariable peptide, SELF-1, which allows individuals to distinguish between kin and non-kin—preventing self-killing but enabling predation on rivals.

We discuss:

• The discovery and characterisation of the self-1 gene

• How a single amino acid change can disrupt recognition

• The role of hypervariable C-terminal sequences in defining identity

• CRISPR-Cas9 experiments to map and manipulate self-recognition

• Why this system may represent a new form of species- and strain-specific recognition in the animal kingdom

📖 Based on the research article:

“Small peptide–mediated self-recognition prevents cannibalism in predatory nematodes”

James W. Lightfoot, Martin Wilecki, Christian Rödelsperger, et al.

Published in Science (2019).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav9856

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more on whole-organism behaviour, evolution, and molecular mechanisms of identity.

🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com

How does a nematode’s feeding strategy shape its gut biology and disease resistance? In this episode, we explore a comparative gut transcriptomics study of Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus that reveals how changes in anatomy and lifestyle have led to major shifts in gene expression and pathogen susceptibility.

We discuss:

• Why P. pacificus lacks the grinder structure and how this changes its digestion

• What makes their intestinal gene expression profiles so divergent, despite being close relatives

• The role of Hedgehog signalling and lineage-specific genes in intestinal development

• Surprising findings on gut pH stability despite transcriptomic divergence

• How these factors shape resistance to pathogens and environmental adaptation

📖 Based on the research article:

“Comparative transcriptomics of the nematode gut identifies global shifts in feeding mode and pathogen susceptibility”

James W. Lightfoot, Veeren M. Chauhan, Jonathan W. Aylott & Christian Rödelsperger.

Published in BMC Research Notes (2016).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-016-1886-9

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more on nematode evolution, gut biology, and systems-level research.

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 [email protected]

In this episode, we explore the next generation of polymeric drug carriers, made from sustainably sourced glycerol and diglycerol. Researchers are replacing traditional PEGylated polymers with innovative glycerol-based polyesters and copolyesters that are biodegradable, biocompatible, and free from PEG-related immunogenic risks.

We cover four recent studies investigating how changes to the polymer backbone—like adding hydrophobic diols or tweaking amphiphilicity—dramatically affect nanoparticle formation, drug encapsulation, and in vivo performance.

🔍 Key Topics Covered:

• The rise of poly(glycerol adipate) (PGA) and poly(diglycerol adipate) (PDGA) as eco-friendly drug carriers

• How backbone modifications (adding 1,6-hexanediol or altering hydrophilicity) fine-tune nanoparticle properties

• Chitosan-based nanoparticles for delivering sodium usnate in osteosarcoma therapy, combining drug delivery with cancer suppression

• Advanced stability, encapsulation, and whole-organism (Caenorhabditis elegans) biocompatibility testing of these smart polymers

• Why these next-generation biodegradable polyesters could replace PEG in future medicines

📖 Based on 4 Research Articles:

1. Poly (diglycerol adipate) variants as enhanced nanocarrier replacements in drug delivery applications – Jacob et al., 2023 

2. Glycerol- and diglycerol-based polyesters: Evaluation of backbone alterations upon nano-formulation performance – Axioti et al., 2024 

3. Self-assembled chitosan-sodium usnate drug delivery nanosystems: Synthesis, characterisation, stability, cytotoxicity, and biocompatibility against 143B cells – Brugnoli et al., 2023 

4. Glycerol-Based Copolyesters as Polymeric Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery – D’Anna et al., 2025 

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more discoveries at the interface of polymer science, drug delivery, and whole-organism research!

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 [email protected]

Tracking drug delivery inside cells is a challenge when the drug carrier itself is invisible. In this episode, we discuss a breakthrough in polymer science: the creation of fluorescent poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles using a one-step, solvent-free dye-initiated polymerisation process.

By covalently attaching dyes (blue, green, or red) to every PLGA chain, these nanoparticles become intrinsically fluorescent—meaning their position can be accurately tracked inside cells and tissues, without the risk of dye leakage.

This study shows how these fluorescent PLGA nanoparticles behave in:

• Human THP-1 macrophages, where they were tracked using super-resolution microscopy.
• Live Caenorhabditis elegans, where their journey through the digestive tract was mapped.
• Drug delivery experiments, where the release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin was simultaneously tracked alongside the polymer carrier.

This innovation offers a powerful new tool for researchers studying drug delivery, vaccine carriers, and polymer biodistribution.

📖 Based on the research article:
"Facile Dye-Initiated Polymerization of Lactide–Glycolide Generates Highly Fluorescent Poly(lactic-co-glycolic Acid) for Enhanced Characterization of Cellular Delivery"
Mohammad A. Al-Natour, Mohamed D. Yousif, Robert Cavanagh, Amjad Abouselo, Edward A. Apebende, Amir Ghaemmaghami, Dong-Hyun Kim, Jonathan W. Aylott, Vincenzo Taresco, Veeren M. Chauhan & Cameron Alexander. Published in ACS Macro Letters (2020).
🔗 Read the full paper

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more discoveries at the interface of polymers, drug delivery, and whole-organism research!

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com

📧 [email protected]

Can a normally bacteria-feeding nematode become a blood-feeder? In this episode, we dive into the surprising world of haematophagic Caenorhabditis elegans — worms that can consume human blood. This research explores how feeding C. elegans a diet of erythrocytes (red blood cells) could help accelerate vaccine development for parasitic infections like hookworm disease.

By studying the enzymes used by these worms to digest haemoglobin and detoxify haem, scientists are unlocking new ways to test anti-parasite vaccines — all without needing live hookworms.

🔍 Key Topics Covered:

• How C. elegans can ingest and survive on a diet of human blood

• Using fluorescently labelled red blood cells to track feeding behaviour

• Comparing digestive enzymes of C. elegans to those of Necator americanus, a major human parasite

• Why this breakthrough could help identify and test new vaccine candidates

📖 Based on the research article:

“Haematophagic Caenorhabditis elegans”

Veeren M. Chauhan & David I. Pritchard. Published in Parasitology (2019).

🔗 Read it here: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182018001518

Join us to discover how turning a free-living nematode into a blood-feeder could reshape vaccine research for parasitic diseases!

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more surprising stories at the intersection of parasitology, biotechnology, and innovation.

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com

📧 [email protected]