Reference Value: Number of Worms that Fit in a Mini

Model Organism: Worms Facts & Figures
1

perhaps this is useful ? Note that the mini concerned is the 2012 model!

Assuming an interior volume of 2152.1 litres, then I make it that ~7 x1011 young adult worms would fit inside. But this would be illegal.

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2

Now how many worm breeders would it take to pick 7x10^11 worms into the mini…

3

assuming there are ~3000 worm breeders out there (that could be an underestimate), then each of us would have to pick ~230 million worms.

At approx. 1 worm transfer every 30 seconds, that would take us (without stopping for food and drink) only about 218 years! Plus most of the worms would be dead already…

Ah well, perhaps not.

4

Well…if we were to get a few worm sorters on the job.

Though we could always pellet worms from a large culture, the largest that I have heard of is 300 litres (PMID: 15690045).

Who’s donating the Mini? :slight_smile:

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5

Sorry, haven’t found the fountain of youth gene yet. Working on it.

We could always use the giant worm picker that made an appearance at LA, or perhaps we could just use shovels.

6

hmmm…using shovels would be expensive. Assuming a shovel weighs in at about 1.5kg then it would cost about 50,000 euros just for the platinum.

7

Mini cooper…15,000 euros. Platinum shovel…50,000 euros. Fun spent on the forum pondering how much it will cost and how long it will take to fill the mini with worms…priceless.

8

Alternatively:

  1. Coat the inside of the Mini with molten NGM. Rotate on industrial shaker and chill at 4°C.

  2. Seed by aerosolizing a solution of OP50 in M9.

  3. Leave Mini in parking lot overnight.

  4. Place 15-20 gravid hermaphrodites at various locations in the Mini.

  5. … wait …

  6. Profit!

9

I think you’re missing an epic step between 5 and 6. Step 5.1: “??”

10

I’m happy to volunteer my car for this noble experiment!

11

are you sure Doug?

12

Heavens, Steve, just what strain did you put in that car?

13

Hillel, I was trying to extend Ailion & Thomas’s work with hid mutants;

http://www.genetics.org/content/156/3/1047.abstract?ijkey=4fa9eaee1cdbba17da8ec95a83aaf59744a03221&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

and fell asleep!

14

All in the name of science. Aww yeah. Note to readers of this thread: make sure you login to see doug’s and steve’s pictures.

edit: @hillel, hahaha, oh dear, guess I should take snoop off the front page then

15

I just learned that an animated GIF posted to the Forum might appear on the front page of WormBase!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/CrawlingCelegans.gif

16

Please don’t abuse! :-X