c elegans

It has been widely assumed that, in single-celled organisms, each cell perceives its environment -- and responds to stress conditions -- individually.

Likewise, it had been thought that cells in multicellular organisms respond the same way, but scientists have now discovered otherwise.

In studies of the worm C.

Scientists have discovered that the roundworm C. elegans constructs the protective tips of its chromosomes -- known as telomeres -- with a little more panache than do mammals, a finding that could deepen our understanding of the interrelationship of aging and cancer.