Why do scientists get worms to drink and make them spin like this?

In the rotating compartment there is a combination of intoxicating worms with numbers up to hundreds of children ; The idea that just alcohol is enough for the mind to spin, turns out to be able to take advantage of experimental equipment to reel even more fiercely.

At first glance, this experiment may seem a little . weird, but its purpose is extremely lofty. Scientists want to understand more about the active polymer, roughly translated as polymers initiative ; 'polymers' is a term for a compound with a large molecular mass and in its structure repeats many basic links, polymers exist both in nature (such as DNA chains) and Can also be artificial products.

Picture 1 of Why do scientists get worms to drink and make them spin like this?
The solution contains spinning worms in the rheometer device

Physicists have suggested that the worm of the genus Tubifex (Tubifex tubifex, which is a species of worm , often living in lakes and rivers on different continents) could be the main subject of active polymer research. , could even become the starting point for a whole new field of research called living polymers.

' Active polymers are an interesting class of active systems, because they exist in many biological systems of varying lengths, ' said Antoine Deblais, a scientist from the University of Amsterdam and also a in many study authors told Gizmodo. ' At the nanoscale and microscopic levels, biology provides many examples of flexible active structures, from actin fibers, microtubules to whip hairs of sperm, algae, bacteria, and then to numerous planktonic organisms as well. By using these basic systems (such as active polymers), we will better understand the active fibers in general '.

Currently, science is not available for experimental systems for active polymer research, making it difficult to observe their movement. This 'drunken worm rotation' experiment will involve worms released in water, simulating active polymers - a system of individual individuals that can move in specific ways. Besides being easy to observe, both worms and alcohol are easy to find.

Picture 2 of Why do scientists get worms to drink and make them spin like this?
Worm activity in water and in water with 5% alcohol content.

The team observed a large number of worms in a rheometer device (a tool used to measure the movement of a fluid or mucus when the force is applied). They filled the tubifex worms into the cavity, observing their movements under different conditions; The results showed that the worm worked slowly when the temperature dropped or when the solution was 5% alcohol.

When the temperature is low enough or the alcohol content is high enough, the worm stops stirring, the flow of solution appears 'shear thinning' , roughly translated as 'absolute dilution' , where the rotation increases, the fibers in The solution combination (ie the worms in this test) will move in the same direction, allowing the fluid to flow more easily. However, when removing the alcohol, the absolute dilution factor decreases as the worms begin to move in random directions.

Physicists plan to replicate this experiment on regular polymer chains, observing what happens when accidental movements occur.

The research was published in Physical Review Letters.