‘Superorganisms' were just seen in the wild for the first time ever
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission.
For years, scientists have watched nematodes build massive superorganisms in the form of writhing towers. But, they've only seen it happen in the lab. Now, though, researchers write that they've observed these massive, disturbing towers writhing in the wild for the first time ever.
Previously, researchers believed that the behavior was meant to be an attempt to escape from the rest of the group. However, new images of the writhing towers appear to suggest they're actually used cooperatively, to benefit many worms instead of just one.
Today's Top Deals
Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales
Best Ring Video Doorbell deals
Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98
The researchers reported their findings in a report published in Current Biology, writing that these towering superorganisms only existed naturally in their imaginations for the longest of times. Observing the towers also taught researchers quite a bit about how different species of nematode work together.
While watching the towers, the scientists note that while many different species crawled through the worm towers, only one species, a tough larval stage known as a dauer, actually participated in building up the writing masses. This specificity in the construction of the tower points to something more than just random cooperation.
These towers are truly superorganisms, then, and not just piles of writing worm bodies. This discovery also got researchers thinking: could other worms form writhing towers like this, too? To test that hypothesis, they stuck a toothbrush bristle into a food-free agar plate, then unleashed a bunch of roundworms from the species Caenorhabditis elegans into the structure.
Immediately, the worms began to work together and build up a tower. Within two hours, the researchers say the C. elegans had formed a tower using the bristle as its spine. The researchers watched as some worms along the superorganism writhed and acted as exploratory arms. Others acted as bridges between gaps.
To see how the superorganism would respond, the researchers tapped the top of the tower with a glass pick. Almost immediately, the worms began to wriggle and move toward the area. This, they say, shows that these towers are always growing and moving toward stimulus.
It's an intriguing show of cooperation between the worms, and just one more way that worms continue to astound scientists. It also raises more questions about why these superorganisms form in the first place. Even more interesting, though, is that the roundworms didn't appear to hold any kind of class system in place. Where the nematodes only relied on the larval stage worms to create the tower, all the roundworms chimed in to help build up the mass.
Researchers will need to dig deeper to see exactly why worms form these writhing superorganisms. Hopefully other species, like the parasitic hairworm, aren't capable of this same kind of behavior.
More Top Deals
Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free
See the
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
'Shocking' find could change the way Aussies visit the beach
For 200 years, there has been speculation that swimmers could be tormented by more than one species of bluebottle jellyfish. It turns out there are at least four, including one in Australia that has a 'prominent nose'. 'We were shocked, because we assumed they were all the same species," Griffith University marine ecologist Professor Kylie Pitt said. Until recently, studying these notorious jellyfish has been a challenge because they're hard to keep in captivity, and when they wash up on the beach they disintegrate quickly. Speaking with Yahoo News, Pitt explained the game-changer has been advances in DNA sequencing. 'With our paper, we used the most powerful method, whole genome sequencing, so it's entire DNA has been sampled,' she said. 'By combining the DNA with morphology, we've got the strongest evidence possible for separating out the species.' The discovery is likely to have a direct impact on Aussie swimmers because it could help researchers better understand jellyfish behaviour and predict when they'll swarm towards beaches. Pitt was part of an international research effort by Yale University, University of New South Wales and Griffith University that sequenced the genomes of 151 jellyfish from around the world and published their findings in the journal Current Biology. A key finding of the study that the notorious Portuguese man o' war is only found in the Atlantic and is a completely separate species from Australian bluebottles. 'For a long time, people have said they're much bigger over there and the venom is much more potent,' Pitt said. 'Now we know that the potency of their venom might differ.' Related: 😳 Swimmer's painful encounter with deadly creature on Queensland island The existence of three newly described species, Physalia physalis, Physalia utriculus and Physalia megalista, had been proposed in the 18th and 19th Centuries, but the idea was later dismissed. The researchers also identified a fourth species Physalia minuta that had never been described before. 'The one that really stands out is Physalia megalista because it has a really pronounced nose,' Pitt said. It's also believed there are several distinct subpopulations shaped by regional winds and ocean currents. This new knowledge about bluebottles will have a real-world impact for swimmers, as there could be differences with the venom of Australian species too. It will also help support an investigation into jellyfish behaviour that's funded by the Australian Research Council. 🌏 Secret hidden beneath Australia's 'most important' parcel of land 👙 Tourists oblivious to disturbing scene 500m off sunny Aussie beach 📸 Confronting picture showcases state of Aussie wildlife on world stage Pitt explained a PhD student is working to understand how winds and currents move the bluebottles towards beaches, as well as how they move in the water. 'Bluebottles can actually erect their float or lay it down, depending upon what the wind conditions are. And they can also expand and or extend and contract their tentacles, which might act a little bit like a sea anchor, so there might be a bit more of a drag,' she said. 'Now we know there are at least three species in Australia she may need to look at their behavioural differences.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
This AI system found a potential cure for blindness
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. People developing frontier AI models often speculate about how amazing the world will be once AGI and AI superintelligence are available. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's recent essay is the latest example of that. Once superhuman intelligence is reached, the AI will make scientific discoveries that are beyond our reach for now, significantly improving our lives and well-being. There's also the possibility of AI taking over the world, of course. But we don't like to entertain it too much. Once that age of AI superintelligence arrives, we might see cancer eradicated, or a cure for diabetes and other types of illnesses that impact hundreds of millions of people. One can hope that AI will lead us there, at least. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 But we don't have to wait for one AI firm or another to proclaim that AGI is here to see meaningful developments in the field of medicine driven by AI. AGI, by the way, is the intermediate AI step we need to reach before superintelligence. Researchers from FutureHouse designed an AI system to automate scientific discovery. Called Robin, it's a scientist's companion that has several AI models to assist with the various stages of a discovery. Robin AI helped the researchers find a potential cure for a condition called dry age-related macular degeneration (dAMD) that can lead to irreversible blindness in the elderly. As many as 200 million people suffer from dAMD. The Robin AI system helped the scientists come up with a potential treatment by repurposing a drug called ripasudil, which is also used to treat glaucoma. Robin AI isn't just one large language model. It has three components, each made of separate LLMs that handle specific aspects of the research process: Crow, Falcon, and Owl perform literature searches and synthesis Phoenix is responsible for chemical synthesis design Finch does complex data analysis The way Robin works is actually brilliant. First, Crow analyzed the relevant literature for dAMD (around 550 studies) and proposed a hypothesis for the study. Crow suggested that enhancing retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) phagocytosis could be a potential treatment for dAMD. Robin's Falcon then looked at candidate molecules that might be able to achieve the goal above. The RPE layer of cells eats debris from the photoreceptors. RPE failure leads to dAMD. Falcon found 10 candidates that the scientists tested in the lab. Finally, Finch analyzed the data from the tests that humans ran in the lab. This AI agent found a Rho-kinase (ROCK) inhibitor called Y-27632 would increase RPE phagocytosis in cell cultures. The research didn't stop here. The scientists had Robin look at the data and propose a new round of testing based on the previous findings. This time, the AI co-scientist system proposed a genetic experiment. It suggested an RNA-sequencing test to see if the ROCK inhibitor found during the previous stage could induce gene expression changes that would convince the RPE layer to eat more of the debris that builds up. The new experiment ended with Finch discovering that Y-27632 upregulated ABCA1, a gene that acts as a pump for lipids (cholesterol) in RPE cells. The ROCK inhibitor practically told cells to eject more fat. Robin looked at the data from the first round of testing and then proposed a second set of drug candidates. The list included ripasudil, a drug that's already approved to treat eye conditions (glaucoma). Ripasudil raised phagocytosis 7.5 times. That is, the drug might increase the rate at which RPE destroys debris significantly. Preventing that accumulation would prevent blindness. The entire process took only two and a half months, allowing researchers to discover a potential cure for blindness much faster than traditional methods that do not involve AI models. The scientists picked the dAMD project to put the Robin AI to the test, but they could have used any disease that impacts a large number of people. That's not to say that ripasudil will become the standard dAMD treatment to prevent blindness. But it's very likely that doctors will consider the therapy once additional tests prove the AI's hypothesis and solution are correct. Only after human trials are successful will the drug be used for dAMD. What's great about this process is that Robin found a drug that's already approved for use rather than discovering a new molecule that might need years of additional testing. The Robin experiment isn't the first to use AI for repurposing existing drugs to treat other conditions. But this system is more complex than having an AI read massive amounts of studies to find side effects in existing drugs that might treat illnesses other than the conditions they were made for. Here, one of Robin's LLMs does the reading and suggests solutions. The other AI models in Robin come up with molecules and then analyze the data from lab experiments. The humans are needed only to run the experiments, verify the output from AI models, and tweak algorithms and prompts. I wouldn't be surprised if similar research leads to the discovery of brand-new therapies for all sorts of conditions in the future. Also important is the researchers' decision to release Robin as an open-source project. Others might use it to run similar experiments or build their own AI systems that can act as co-scientists. The following clip does a great job explaining this AI breakthrough. You'll find the full study at this link. Don't Miss: Today's deals: Nintendo Switch games, $5 smart plugs, $150 Vizio soundbar, $100 Beats Pill speaker, more More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Tiny glass beads could reveal the Moon's secret history
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. You might see the Moon as a grey, lifeless orb that orbits our planet each day. However, many researchers believe that the Moon is more alive than we believe. Further, they believe that the Moon's secret history could help us learn more about how it formed billions of years ago. While it might look grey from afar, the Moon is actually home to thousands (maybe even millions) of tiny glass beads. These beads, astronomers say, could actually help us learn more about our satellite's past, as they likely formed during a period of volcanic activity on the Moon. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 Many believe that the Moon's secret history is tied to that volcanic activity and that these beads, which the Apollo astronauts brought back when they returned home, formed between 3.3 and 3.6 billion years ago. Now, researchers are using modern techniques to look deeper into the beads. The researchers' findings suggest they have been able to look inside the beads and uncover more information about the microscopic minerals inside the lunar beads. Through this 'unprecedented view,' they were able to look back into the Moon's past. Each bead, the researchers note, tells its own version of that story. Some of the beads are more orange in color, while others have a glossy black appearance. The fact that these beads even exist tells us more about the Moon's secret history of volcanic eruption, which we haven't been able to study in-depth. Perhaps as we work to colonize other planets, and one day set up a Moon colony, we can figure out what caused these eruptions to eventually cease, as astronomers have long believed the Moon was 'dead' because of the lack of any modern eruptions. Plus, the beads have a shape and chemical composition never before seen here on Earth. By analyzing them, the researchers know a bit more about our Moon than before. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
