Keep Your Head Worm

Biologists at Tufts University have succeeded in inducing one species of flatworm to grow heads and brains characteristic of another species of flatworm without altering genomic sequence. The discovery could help improve understanding of birth defects and regeneration by revealing a new pathway for controlling complex pattern formation. Jeff and Anthony imagine a world with new, programmable heads, and wonder what kinds of antics these wrongheaded worms might get into.