News Physics

These worms can escape tangled blobs in an instant. Here’s how

Alternating clockwise and counterclockwise motions help blackworms quickly escape a knot

A huge tangle of worms on a black backdrop

Wriggling California blackworms tangle themselves into massive blobs (pictured). Despite the intricate knotting, the worms can free themselves in just tens of milliseconds.

Harry Tuazon

By Emily Conover

Like tiny, wriggling Houdinis, California blackworms are master escape artists. Groups of the worms work themselves into gnarly tangles but they can undo the knots in just tens of milliseconds. Now scientists have teased out how they do it.