Worm genes take on bacterial foes

While fruit flies don’t have as sophisticated an immune system as mammals do, studies of these insects have provided great insight into the more basic aspects of how people ward off infectious microbes. Offering the first evidence that creatures as simple as worms also have an effective immune defense, scientists report in the July 23 Current Biology that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans mounts a counterattack when infected by bacteria.