Red Death in Worm (IMAGE)

University of Chicago Medical Center

Red Death in Worm

Caption

When worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) ate the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa that were raised on low levels of phosphates, unexpected large red spots appeared in their intestinal tracts. The worms then died, so researchers dubbed the condition "Red Death." They theorized that providing P. aeruginosa with phosphate would protect weakened or immunosuppressed hospital patients from this lethal pathogen.

Credit

Olga Zaborina, University of Chicago

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