Mutant Worm Created That Can't Get Drunk

A mutant worm that can never get drunk has been created by scientists.

They changed a neuron channel to block the effects of alcohol - and believe the discovery could be used to develop a drug to stop humans getting drunk.

Such a drug would be useful for alcoholics, as it would counteract the addictive intoxication feeling caused by alcohol.

Researchers at the University of Texas were able to alter a common human alcohol target - a molecular channel that binds alcohol in the brain - in Caenorhabditis elegans worms by changing their genetic make-up.

Typically, when the worms are put into a petri dish containing alcohol they become drunk and wiggle from side to side more slowly.

However, with the modified channel, the worms acted normally.

Neuroscientist Jonathan Pierce-Shimomura said no side effects were caused.

"The way we tweaked it did not perturb the normal function of the target, allowing it [to] continue functioning normally in the worm's brain," he said.

This is important because the modified channel plays a role in regulating the activity of blood vessels and neurons.

The researchers said a trial-and-error approach was used to test hundreds of mutations, before a suitable one was discovered.

It is understood to be the first example of scientists modifying a human alcohol target to prevent intoxication in an animal.