Feel like teaching a lesson to that pinhead-sized worm that's been bothering you? According to a study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a material called dithienylethene plus a blast of UV light can stop a worm in the midst of its worming, rendering it temporarily paralyzed.
The researchers fed a light-sensitive material — a "photoswitch" known as dithienylethene — to the transparent worms. When exposed to ultraviolet rays, the molecule turned blue and the worms became paralyzed. Using visible light instead made the chemical turn colorless and the paralysis ended [LiveScience]
. Scientists aren't sure why the transparent nematodes became paralyzed, but they know dithienylethene changes shapes and suspect it interferes with the worm's energy-producing metabolic pathways. Repeated cycles of UV-induced paralysis actually killed some of the worms. Unsurprisingly, news of this worm stun-gun led to longing for Star Trek-style phasers, and the scientists, though skeptical, were ...
