A new international open source project has started. This project’s goal is to create a complete model of a living organism that is exact down to its neutrons. This will aid in the future study of more complex organisms. But, as it stands, they have chosen to start small, really small in fact. The organism they have started with is a worm, and a microscopic one at that. This project is called OpenWorm.
More Information
The type of worm they decided to use are known as Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) or nematodes. According to Wikipedia, these creatures are only 1 mm long. One of the main reasons why they chose the C. Elegans is because they have a very simple nervous system, and its entire connectome has been mapped. This makes them an ideal starting point for fully recreating an organism in a digital form.
The project currently has an in browser viewer that allows to view the worm in three dimensions. It also allows you to break it down into its base components. The program has built in sliders that allow you to decide which of its layers are showing. These layers include skin, muscle, nervous system and organs.
Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, the company raised enough money to continue their work to create a more realistic moving version of their worm. They call it WormSim. WormSim is currently available to everyone that contributed to their Kickstarter, but they are slowly allowing more people by request.
One of their factions, known as Sibernetic, is responsible for the creation of the more life-like moving C. elegans as can be seen in this video:
This video from about 6 months ago shows the how C. elegans crawl. This means that OpenWorm is much closer to creating a more life-like worm. This is just the beginning to what will be amazing software.
Where Can You Learn More About OpenWorm?
You can learn more about this open source project by going to their website or their Kickstarter campaign. Their campaign is over, but they have good information about their progress. You can also check out their browser, the Sibernetic website or WormSim for more information.
Comments and Opinions
This is amazing software. In its current state, it will be an amazing educational tool to teach people about the nervous system, muscles and organs of C. elegans. However, this is only the beginning. This technology could lead to creating larger life forms and, maybe someday, humanoids. This could lead to whole new areas of science and research as well as technological advancement. This software excites me for its possibilities in advancing our future. On top of all this the software is open source, meaning anyone can go and see how the software works form a coding perspective. This allows for anyone to join in on this community to collaborate in its development. I’m excited to see how far this technology takes us.
