‘Worm’ is really a catchall term for a huge variety of animals with different characteristics that span the tree of life. They hold clues about our own origins as well as hints about human health.
Activated platelets (purple) on their way to heal a wound.
Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com
Platelets heal wounds. But they also seem to play a paradoxical role in both promoting and inhibiting the growth of solid tumors.
Fluorescence microscopy image of the newly formed blood vessels after injection of our seaweed-derived hydrogel in a muscle. In green are the blood vessels and in blue the cell nuclei.
Aurelien Forget, Roberto Gianni-Barrera, Andrea Banfi and Prasad Shastri
Small wounds can usually heal by themselves, but larger wounds can be a problem. With a little help from a seaweed we can help the body regenerate new blood vessels.
Large scar after surgery on the abdomen young woman.
OneSideProFoto/SHutterstock.com
When kids get injured their skin heals fast, but usually with nasty-looking scars. Now scientists studying the genes of old mice have figured out how they regenerate skin and block scars.
Dangerous open wounds known as cutaneous ulcers are common in people with diabetes and bedsores. Now scientists have figured out how to reprogram the cells inside these wounds to heal themselves.
Professor, Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Adjunct Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego