• Question: . Why, if you cut worms up do they still live + what makes you so fond of this species.

    Asked by Charlie _J_GG to Rachel, Eva on 10 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Rachel McMullan

      Rachel McMullan answered on 10 Nov 2015:

      Hi Charlie
      If you cut an earthworm in half the half with the head will survive and grow a new tail but the tail will die although it does depend on where you cut it.
      Much cooler than the earthworms are planarian flat worms, they can reform their entire body, even their head, from just a tiny piece!!
      I don’t work with earthworms or planarian worms but small worms called C. elegans. They’re nematode worms, not segmented worms like earthworms, and they don’t survive if you cut them in half. In fact if you try they explode quite spectacularly!
      C. elegans are really simple to work with and we can use them for loads of different things including research to understand how we develop and age and how our brains work. Although they’re simple they have a lot in common with us so the things we learn in worms might help us understand human biology.

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