‘Death is frequently associated with the colour black, but for some worms the grim reaper comes wearing robes of fluorescent blue.
Hours before it dies, a wave of blue light flows through the body of a flatworm, Caenorhabditis elegans. Now, the biological mechanisms leading up to the flatworm’s death have been studied for the first time – revealing an unexpected source for this blue wave of death.’ (New Scientist).
Related articles
- Anthranilate Fluorescence Marks a Calcium-Propagated Necrotic Wave That Promotes Organismal Death in C. elegans (plosbiology.org)
- A Glowing Blue Death Wave Envelops Roundworms Before They Expire (blogs.smithsonianmag.com)
- Flatworm given power to regrow its head (newscientist.com)
- Death Spreads From Cell To Cell In A Wave: How New Findings Show Old-Age Deaths Happen From Multiple Processes Breaking Down (medicaldaily.com)
- Worms Found To Glow Before Oncoming Death (33rdsquare.com)
