Please use this page to answer the safety questions posed on the safety page.

Risk Assessment

C. elegans is non-pathogenic to humans. Thus, concerns about researcher, public, and environmental safety are minimal. As such, C. elegans can be safely cultured in a BSL-1 laboratory¹. Since the worms are non-pathogenic organisms, and Biosafety level 1 practices are simple and safe, working with C. elegans carries a very low level of risk.

The engineered C. elegans are neither pathogenic, nor do they emit any amount of toxin. Thus, a malfunction in our BioBrick parts would pose minimal threat to humans, laboratory equipment, and other organisms.

The worms feed on plates containing E. coli OP50.

Footnotes and Citations

1: [http://www.ccac.ca/en/CCAC_Programs/ETCC/Module04/15.html Biosafety Guidelines and Levels of Containment]. Canadian Council on Animal Care. Accessed on 2010-06-22.