EPISODE 18: Pumped Up – How Worms Mimic Heart Rhythms to Test Nanotech
The Worm Podcast17 Jun 2025

EPISODE 18: Pumped Up – How Worms Mimic Heart Rhythms to Test Nanotech

In this episode, we ask: can a heartless worm model arrhythmia? Turns out — yes. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a stand-in for cardiac muscle, researchers tested the effects of polypyrrole nanoparticles (Ppy NPs) on pharyngeal pumping rhythms, revealing fascinating insights into how bioengineered materials might impact human-like tissues.


We explore:


  • How the worm pharynx mimics cardiac function

  • Why mutants with sluggish pumps were rescued by Ppy NPs

  • Long-lasting effects, even after the nanoparticles were expelled

  • Calcium imaging showing altered Ca²⁺ dynamics in real time

  • The power of C. elegans for safe-by-design nanomedicine screening



📖 Based on the research article:

“Arrhythmic Effects Evaluated on Caenorhabditis elegans: The Case of Polypyrrole Nanoparticles”

Sumithra Yasaswini Srinivasan, Pilar Alvarez Illera, Dmytro Kukhtar, et al.

Published in ACS Nano (2023).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.3c05245



🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more science where whole organisms meet high-tech innovation!


This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.


📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠⁠

📧 veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk

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