Successfully creating mutant worms drinking alcohol without being drunk

Researchers have created a mutant worm, which may never get drunk in an attempt to find a cure for alcoholics.

According to The Journal of Neuroscience, scientists have implanted a "human alcohol goal" , which is mutated and has the ability to completely neutralize the effects of alcohol on Caenorhabditis elegans worms . In it, "alcohol target" is any nerve cell molecule that binds alcohol.

The tiny worm is chosen as the subject of experiment because alcohol slows down cow movements, as well as causing them to lose their ability to wiggle from side to side. When drunk, individuals Caenorhabditis elegans also stop laying eggs and are more easily controlled.

Caenorhabditis elegans worms lose their ability to wiggle and stop laying eggs when drunk.(Photo: Daily Mail)

Jon Pierce-Shimomura, the head of the study, stated: " This is the first example of changing a" people's alcohol target "to prevent drunkenness in an animal. fortunate to discover a way to create channels that are less sensitive to alcohol, without affecting its normal function ".

During the mutation process, the team modified a potassium channel that exists in cell membranes called BK channels , making it less sensitive to alcohol, but continuing its normal functions like the active one. dynamics of neurons, blood vessels, airways and intestines.

Scientists believe that research can be used to treat alcoholics. According to Prof. Pierce-Shimomura, future drugs may target the number of alcohol targets to prevent the consequences of alcohol abuse.

In addition, the results of the study are expected to one day be used to develop "James Bond" , allowing spies to sniff out, defeat opponents on the table, but still keep themselves be awake by the head.

Unlike other drugs like cocaine, which have a certain goal in the nervous system, the effects of alcohol on the human body are complex and have many goals across the brain. Many other aspects of alcoholism, such as stamina, craving and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, can be influenced by different alcohol goals.