Freshwater planaria worms float in petri dishes in Dr. Michael Levin's lab at the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. These planaria worms exhibit abnormalities found in worm colonies, including worms with multiple heads, and have been tracked in the lab since 2010. Some of the abnormalities have been achieved through drug treatments such as gap junction blocking, which blocks communication between cells during development. <br />
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Levin's research focuses on the way that animal cells communicate with one another during embryonic development and cell and tissue regeneration. Levin's lab currently uses frogs and freshwater planaria worms for research. Switzer collects eggs from adult frogs to be used in research.