OpenWorm: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:20, 5 September 2024

Revision as of 13:55, 18 September 2024

Line 15:

[[File:Adult Caenorhabditis elegans.jpg|thumb|right|An adult ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' worm]]

''C. elegans'' has one of the simplest nervous systems of any organism—itsorganism - its [[hermaphrodite]] type possesses only 302 neurons. Furthermore, the structural [[connectome]] of these neurons is fully worked out. There are fewer than one thousand cells in the whole body of a ''C. elegans'' worm, and because ''C. elegans'' is a [[model organism]], each has a unique identifier and comprehensive supporting literature. Being a model organism, the genome is fully known, along with many well characterized mutants readily available, and a comprehensive literature of behavioural studies. With so few neurons and new [[3D optical data storage|2-photon]] calcium [[microscopy]] techniques, it should soon be possible to record the complete neural activity of a living organism. The manipulation of neurons via [[Optogenetics|optogenetic]] methods, in tandem with the foregoing technical capacities, has provided the project an unprecedented position—nowposition - now able to fully characterize the neural dynamics of an entire organism.

The efforts to build an ''[[in silico]]'' model of ''C. elegans'', although a relatively simple organism, have burgeoned the development of technologies that will make it easier to model progressively more complex organisms.

Line 53:

==Open science==

{{Unsourced|section|date=December 2023}}

The OpenWorm community is committed to the ideals of [[open science]].<ref>[https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2017.0382 Royal Society website, ''OpenWorm: overview and recent advances in integrative biological simulation of Caenorhabditis elegans'', article by Gopal P. Sarma et al dated September 10, 2018]</ref> Generally this means that the team will try to publish in open access journals and include all data gathered (to avoid the [[file drawer problem]]). Indeed, all the biological data the team has gathered is publicly available, and the five publications the group has made so far are available for free on their website. All the software that OpenWorm has produced is completely free and open source.

By mid-2024, twenty publications made by the group are available for free on their website.<ref>[https://openworm.org/publications.html OpenWorm website, ''Publications'', retrieved September 18, 2024]</ref> All the software that OpenWorm has produced is completely free and open source.<ref>[https://openworm.org/downloads.html OpenWorm website, ''Downloads'', retrieved September 18, 2024]</ref><ref>[https://openworm.org OpenWorm website, retrieved September 18, 2024]</ref>

OpenWorm is also trying a radically open model of scientific collaboration. The team consists of anyone who wishes to be a part of it. There are over one hundred "members" who are signed up for the high volume technical mailing list. Of the most active members who are named on a publication there are collaborators from Russia, Brazil, England, Scotland, Ireland and the United States. To coordinate this international effort, the team uses "virtual lab meetings" and other online tools that are detailed in the resources section.

OpenWorm is also trying a radically open model of scientific collaboration. The team consists of anyone who wishes to be a part of it. There are over one hundred "members" who are signed up for the high volume technical mailing list. Of the most active members who are named on a publication there are collaborators from Russia, Brazil, England, Scotland, Ireland and the United States. To coordinate this international effort, the team uses "virtual lab meetings" and other online tools that are detailed in the resources section.

To coordinate this international effort, the team uses "virtual lab meetings" and other online tools that are detailed in the resources section.<Ref>[https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/computational-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncom.2014.00137/full Frontiers website, ''OpenWorm: an open-science approach to modeling Caenorhabditis elegans'', article by Balázs Szigeti et al, dated November 3, 2014]</ref>

== References ==