Tag : Nematodes

Washington: Researchers discovered that when nematodes, tiny worms measuring about a millimetre or less in length, eat the bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri, the ageing-related decline in associative learning ability does not occur. These findings could point to ways to use diet to slow age-related cognitive decline in other animals, including humans. Their research was published in the journal eLife. "This research is significant in that it established a method for studying the effects of diet on brain function in ageing individuals using a combination of nematodes and bacteria as food," said Associate Professor Kentaro Noma from the Graduate School of Science at Nagoya University. "Taking advantage of the characteristics of nematodes to measure both individual lifespan and ageing of brain function, we found dietary conditions that maintain brain function, but not longevity. We usually think that the decline in brain function is caused by ageing, but perhaps the processes of ageing of brain function and individual lifespan are controlled by different mechanisms." Researchers are interested in how a person can use diet to maintain healthy brain activity. However, since the effects of diet are complex, they remain a difficult topic to study. To get around this problem, researchers study simpler organisms to understand the basic mechanisms behind these processes. Such organisms include nematodes, tiny roundworms favoured by researchers because of their simple anatomy, short lifespan, and ease of genetic manipulation. The research group used the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which has a short lifespan of only two weeks but uses its simple nervous system to exhibit memory-learning behaviours. Noma was especially interested in the behaviour ...