Karen Lange

Reaffirming the value of model organisms in training scientific minds - Nature Cell Biology As biomedical research prioritizes human models and translational promise, classic model organisms are increasingly dismissed. Here we argue that they have a lasting value, both in enabling discovery and in cultivating scientific thinking, by training researchers in systems reasoning, integrative thinking and independent inquiry.

Model organisms, in particular non-mammalian model organisms, such as yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans, #Drosophila and zebrafish, have long stood at the centre of biological discovery www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Dopaminergic Modulation of Short‐Term Associative Memory in Caenorhabditis elegans Forgetting is a vital, active process that clears irrelevant memories and supports new learning. Using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, we investigated how dopamine, a key neurotransmitter,....

🧠 Dopamine and forgetting

A new study shows dopamine helps the brain forget old memories. Worms lacking dopamine held onto memories longer, suggesting forgetting is an active, dopamine-driven process.

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jnc.70200

#SciComm 🧪 #Neuroscience #Memory

You could start a worm museum with all these gems you keep getting gifted!

Working with C. elegans This channel provides clear demonstrations of core C. elegans lab skills, including: recognizing life stages and common phenotypes, picking and manipulating worms, and maintaining healthy cultures. De...

Hi fellow C. elegans scientists, I've made a few videos that may be of use for new trainees working in worm labs. Hoping to add more in the future, but figured I'd share this resource as is in case it's helpful :)
www.youtube.com/@Workingwith...

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

New cures feel sudden, but the seeds were planted decades ago by basic scientists.

Which seeds will turn into cures? Unpredictable looking forward, a straight line looking back. 🧪🧬 🧵

I'd struggle to find a drive to read this.

C. elegans CED-1 acts in neurons to modulate ciliary protein abundance and extracellular vesicle shedding https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.15.676301v1

Why would anyone want to screen drugs against the model nematode #Celegans?

Check out the latest review in #GENETICS where Peter Roy provides insight and perspective into why scientists choose worms for #drugdiscovery. buff.ly/0Xo54vJ

“‘She uncovered the social experience of women in science’ — the lab assistants who never became managers, the geologists poring over data in government offices while their male peers were doing fieldwork, those who despite their advanced degrees didn’t get hired or promoted, or who were sidelined…”

Currently putting data from 2018 into a manuscript I'm working on. Glad to finally find a home for this work!

Functional classification of GNAI1 disorder variants in C. elegans uncovers conserved and cell-specific mechanisms of dysfunction Heterotrimeric G proteins transduce signals from G protein coupled receptors, which mediate key aspects of neuronal development and function. Mutations in the GNAI1 gene, which encodes Gi1, cause a di...

Interesting to see different variants in the same gene causing different phenotypes!

Functional classification of GNAI1 disorder variants in C. elegans uncovers conserved and cell-specific mechanisms of dysfunction

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Laetitia Chauve created synthetic neotetrapoloid C. elegans worms. They have reduced fitness, both survival and fertility. But how do they react to stress?
pathogens - nothing
heat stress - slight improvement
cold stress - huge improvement relative to diploids in survival in adults!
#ESEB2025

Inactivation of the DREAM complex mimics the molecular benefits of sleep Circadian clock disruption and lack of sleep impair organismal health, but remedies remain elusive. Here, we used multi-omics, molecular and functional assays in C. elegans , human retinal cells and m...

Can the benefits of sleep 😴 be achieved without sleeping? Our latest research says YES. Using nematodes, human cells, and mouse brain, we found that the effects of sleep and wakefulness arise from large chromatin changes that can be modulated by drugs.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Drug screens using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans Abstract. Since its inception as a model system, Caenorhabditis elegans has provided insight about the mechanism of action of drugs through genetic analyse

'Why would anyone want to screen drugs against the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans? (...) This review aims to provide insight and perspective into this question.'

a man in a suit has a name tag on his jacket that says dennis Alt: a man in a suit has a name tag on his jacket that says dennis

The funds are approved! We're hiring a postdoc to build a CRISPRa toolkit to identify new aging mechanisms in C. elegans.

Email or DM me to find out more. Please share & repost!

We’re growing @arcadiascience.com & are on the lookout for talent to run new pilot projects contributing to our broader goals. Seeking computational + wet lab fluency to iterate independently on new projects. If you’re a creative scientist w/ ambitious ideas, apply!

jobs.lever.co/arcadiascien...

Save the date!
March 2027 on beautiful lake Maggiore right outside #Milan, are you ready for #Cilia2027? 🥳
Stay tuned for more info!

C. elegans: An elegant experimental system for the study of cilia biology Caenorhabditis elegans is a genetically tractable organism that has become one of the leading in vivo models for cilia research. Cilia are not require…

My fabulous colleague (and ex-postdoc) @inechipurenko.bsky.social and I (mostly Inna!) wrote a review extolling the many virtues of C. elegans for the study of cilia biology. A really interactive and collaborative community of people working in this field too.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

electron microscopy image of a C elegans on a yellow background

🧬June's most-read Genetics paper independently validates previous research showing that #CElegans can inherit learned pathogen avoidance: buff.ly/HQgprLp

I’m pleased to share the latest preprint from the Iyer Lab! 🎉
We uncover a novel role for dynamin in regulating spindle pole assembly and PLK-1 localization during late mitosis in C. elegans embryos.
Read it here 👉 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
#CellBiology #C_elegans #Cytokinesis
#Dynamin #PLK1

How do species remain distinct? Our recent collaboration with the Rifkin Lab discovered a new hybrid incompatibility between Caenorhabditis species that results in defects in the first cell division, like irregular spindles! We show how subtle changes in cell biology can reinforce species barriers.

Functional residuomics – analyzing how missense mutations impact cellular systems Summary: Functional residuomics maps how single amino acid changes shape protein function and cellular homeostasis, offering a new lens on structure–function relationships and disease.

An interesting perspective from Guangshuo Ou.

Functional residuomics – analyzing how missense mutations impact cellular systems

doi.org/10.1242/jcs....

Heat shock proteins function as signaling molecules to mediate neuron–glia communication in C. elegans during aging | Nature Neuroscience The nervous system is primarily composed of neurons and glia, and the communication between them has profound roles in regulating the development and function of the brain. Neuron–glia signal transduction is known to be mediated by secreted signals through ligand–receptor interactions on the cell membrane. Here we show a new mechanism for neuron–glia signal transduction, wherein neurons transmit proteins to glia through extracellular vesicles, activating glial signaling pathways. We find that in the amphid sensory organ of Caenorhabditis elegans, different sensory neurons exhibit varying aging rates. This discrepancy in aging is governed by the cross-talk between neurons and glia. We demonstrate that early aged neurons can transmit heat shock proteins to glia via extracellular vesicles. These neuronal heat shock proteins activate the glial IRE1–XBP1 pathway, leading to the transcriptional regulation of chondroitin synthases to protect glia-embedded neurons from aging-associated functio

Neurons in C. elegans transmit heat shock proteins to glia via extracellular vesicles, aiding neuron-glia communication in aging. PMID:40533573, Nat Neurosci 2025, @NatureNeuro https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-01989-0 #Medsky #Pharmsky #RNA #ASHG #ESHG 🧪

Less than a month. There was one academic reviewer.

Graffiti at the end of an underpass in Heidelberg saying 'LAB!'.

Some PIs will stop at nothing to motivate their lab members. 🧪

My first micropublication!

It reports a CRISPR-Cas9 guide sequence that I stumbled upon by accident and now use to make entry strains. I hope others find it useful too! #worms #Celegans

micropublication.org/journals/bio...

YouTube video by Kimberly K "Use More OP50" (2025)

Wanted to post a video we accidentally forgot to show at the Worm art show #worm25 from the Van Buskirk lab @cswormlab.bsky.social @baristursun.bsky.social

Hope you all enjoy!
youtu.be/7IMrOsmg5UY

I had the best time at #worm25 I'm feeling very inspired and I'm grateful for the wonderful worm community

#worm25 Tuesday Tips:

Don’t miss our special Plenary session on supporting the Genetics community, today at 1:30 pm in Mondavi, featuring @rogerslabucd.bsky.social and Pamela Padilla!

10/10 for nostalgia