National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Worms' Paralysis Turned On and Off With Light


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After feeding a light-sensitive chemical to microscopic worms called nematodes—such as the one pictured above lit by a fluorescent protein—scientists were able to paralyze the tiny creatures by exposing them to UV light.

A shot of visible light then restored the worms to normal, and the animals slowly began to wiggle around, the researchers reported in November 2009.

Photograph courtesy American Chemical Society