For many important events, tests, and aspects of our lives we rely on time. Without proper timing we may not arrive on time to a special event or finish a test that could dictate our career. Like how we rely on the time on the clock our bodies rely on a biological timer to determine when we will experience puberty. The timing cues we receive from specific genes in our bodies indicate when hormones are released, and the body begins to change. By focusing on a shared gene between humans and the small worm, C. elegans, researchers have come to learn more about the biological clocks between different organisms. The sexual development between mammals and C. elegans is very different. Mammals unde
Sexual development of an organism determines the life that the organism will have. Their nervous system, genes and other molecules within the body will result in a distinguishing behavior that is preset for them just because of their sex. Surprisingly, with the help of small worms, more specifically C. elegans, and the way they defecate, researchers Dr. Michael Hart and Dr. Oliver Hobert of Columbia University have found more insight into how two small molecules can influence sexual behavior. Like many other animals in the animal kingdom, C. elegans have two sexes. However, due to their unique sexual development the resulting sexes are male and hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodites typically have bo