OpenWorm aims to build the first comprehensive computational model of the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a microscopic roundworm. With only a thousand cells, it solves basic problems such as feeding, mate-finding and predator avoidance. Despite being extremely well studied in biology, this organism still eludes a deep, principled understanding of its biology.

We are using a bottom-up approach, aimed at observing the worm behaviour emerge from a simulation of data derived from scientific experiments carried out over the past decade. To do so we are incorporating the data available in the scientific community into software models. We are engineering Geppetto, an open-source simulation platform, to be able to run these different models together. We are also forging new collaborations with universities and research institutes to collect data that fill in the gaps.

All the code we produce in the OpenWorm project is available open-source on GitHub. This means it's out there for everyone to look at and play with.

Detailed documentation for each sub-project is available from the Projects page.

The OpenWorm Core team meets every two weeks on public Google hangouts. The best way to get started is to sit down and have a look! While most meetings go into specifics of the project they overall do a good job at expressing what is the true spirit of OpenWorm: openess, transparancy and of course science!

Nothing beats the chance to ask a question for yourself. No matter what your background is or how naive your question might sound feel free to drop us a line!

OK, you like the project and you are interested in it. How about connecting with us to receive updates as we progress? There are different ways you can stay connected, and whether you like to receive just casual updates or you want the hardcore all in we can make you happy.

For more information about getting in touch visit the Contacts page.

It might be just a drop in the ocean but it's still going to help! We are constantly looking for collaborators and people that share our vision.

Rigorous predictive models are the cornerstone of science and engineering. Predictive models took us to the moon. Unfortunately, today, there are no comprehensive predictive models of living cells and tissues. Consequently, the entire field of biology and medicine is in a kind of “pre-mathematical” era. A revolution in the biosciences driven by simulation-based research, using predictive models running on high performance computing architectures with flexible user interfaces, is now possible. Simulating a living organism will have impacts on understanding mechanisms of disease, drug discovery and development, synthetic biology, bioengineering, and neuroscience. This is so important to us.

If you want to contribute to the project in any way you should visit the Get Involved page. We have put together some common profiles but if yours doesn't fit in any of them please drop us a line anyway, we'd love to hear from you!