Generally I am losing it

In 1986, John White and his colleagues published "The Structure of the Nervous System of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans," a paper universally known as "The Mind of a Worm." It was the first complete wiring diagram of any animal's brain: 302 neurons and more than 7,000 synapses, mapped by hand over years of painstaking work at the electron microscope in Cambridge.

That paper is the foundation on which OpenWorm was built.

We are honored to announce that John White has donated his share of the 2026 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences to the OpenWorm Foundation. It is the largest single gift in our history.

Celebrating John

John was awarded the Wiley Prize alongside Drs. Rubin, Murthy and Seung for foundational contributions to understanding neural circuits via connectomes. The prize ceremony took place at Rockefeller University on April 10, 2026. Congratulations to John on this recognition of a body of work that has shaped an entire field of science.

A Vote of Confidence

In a note accompanying his gift, John expressed his deep belief in OpenWorm's founding goal and his conviction that with modern gene expression and neural activity data now becoming globally accessible, that goal may well be attainable.

We are grateful in ways that are hard to put into words. John and his colleagues spent years at the electron microscope so the rest of us could have a connectome to work with. His confidence that the original goal is now within reach reinforces our commitment to rigorous, open, incremental science. We intend to honor that trust with real results.

What We're Building

John's gift arrives at a moment of real energy for the project. Our 2026 work is organized around three things:

Design Documents: structured technical specifications covering architectural decisions across all major subsystems, from neural circuits to body physics to data integration. Twenty-nine draft Design Documents are currently under scientific review. They serve two purposes: preserving institutional knowledge so newcomers can learn by reading rather than by finding a mentor, and providing concrete implementation targets that break down into well-scoped contributions. Inspired by RFC processes used in Rust, Python, and Apache, they formalize decisions the project has already made and create a transparent process for proposing new ones.

A contributor progression model: a clear pathway from newcomer to core contributor drawn from open-source projects that have successfully scaled communities well beyond their founding teams.

AI-assisted contribution: pathways that use AI to lower barriers to participation, including automated onboarding, AI-augmented code review, and a model where contributors can direct AI agents to work on well-scoped issues defined by the Design Documents. The science is human-led. Every specification is human-authored. Every merge is human-approved. AI provides extra capacity, particularly for contributors who have programming skills but are still building their C. elegans biology knowledge.

ConnectomeToolbox

OpenWorm's ConnectomeToolbox, built and maintained by Padraig Gleeson, provides a unified Python API for accessing more than 30 C. elegans connectome datasets, from White 1986 through Wang 2024. It is foundational infrastructure across many of the Design Documents, and a paper describing the toolbox is nearing completion.

How the Funds Will Be Used

In consultation with John, the donation will support two things: updating the Worm Browser with newer connectome datasets (L1 larval, L4, male, and dauer) and student travel awards for those presenting OpenWorm-related work at conferences.

Join Us

We have made some changes to how we communicate as a community. We have two places for community conversation. The openworm-discuss Google Group is the mailing list for announcements, Q&A and project discussion. Subscribe there to stay in the loop via email. We're also on Bluesky as our primary social channel, where much of the science community now lives. Slack remains the home for day-to-day collaboration: Join here.

Thank You

To John: your generosity and your belief in this mission mean more than we can say. We are honored to steward these funds in service of the goal you articulated 40 years ago.

If you've contributed to OpenWorm before, thank you. If you've been curious but haven't found the right moment to get involved, this seems like a good one. There's real work ahead and more ways to plug in than there have ever been.

1. It’s overused and supports the current status quote of typical vampire supremacy:worshiping rich folk.

2. Vampires prey upon humans and therefore symbolize capitalists preying on the working class.

GRIME I say ‘tis dirty, wicked, foul, and dark -- An opportunity both miss’d and scorn’d -- That vampires of any shape or shade Would drink the blood of innocence most pure When Pepsi costs a dollar sev’nty five.

FIRST FOOL O lady, I must ask, and tell the truth: Wherever in this God’s green holy land Canst thou obtain this drink for such a fee? I’ve seen no less than fifty-five pence more.

GRIME A hospital, good sir.

SECOND FOOL (Does some figures)                                And might I ask Wherever in this land (of any hue) Is fellow who two dollar thirty pence Dost pay for si of Pep?

GRIME                                    Not I, i’faith. I pay a mere two shillings short of two. And, once again, I pay in hospital.

CANADIAN JESTER I pay a hefty two and half for mine. But in my blood runs maple syrup, too.

GRIME O Jester fine, I pray thee, still thyself. Thou stray’st from this, our mode of speaking here.

FIRST FOOL But blood costs naught but time.

SECOND JESTER                                                 Aye, that is true; But sir, remember this in figuring: A Pepsi, too, is free, if stolen ‘tis.

FIRST FOOL I see, but -- wait, another thought occurs. Wherefore, I ask thee, for what reason, sirs, Dost Lady Grime buy Pepsi from the house Of healing, birth, and death?

GRIME                                             ‘Tis simple, friend. Allow me to explain to thee the cause. The Pepsi sold by those who follow in The footsteps of St. Luke, Evangelist Is sold for a mere dollar sev’nty five.

FIRST HARLEQUIN (Aside, to SECOND HARLEQUIN) Why wouldst a vampire drink Pepsi, then?

SECOND HARLEQUIN (Aside, to FIRST HARLEQUIN) Why wouldst an honest man drink Pepsi, sir?

FIRST FOOL A femboy, it would seem.

(There is general applause and agreement.)

GRIME                                    O fool, a what?

Enter KONAHRIKS De’ACTIVAT EDZOZ ESQ., a SCHOLAR and WARD OF THE SKY.

WARD You see, my friends, this selfsame story tells The truth of why the incubus’s tale Is one that bears to no more to be declared. I’ll tell you all my reasons three. The first: The wealthy ghoul who drinks the common blood Is overused and stale, like molding bread; But also hangs upon the teller’s face A pallid, gasping idol worship mask. The second mark I tally here along: A vampire who sucks the blood from men Does hold up in the mind a mirror cold. This mirror shows that, far from fantasy, The vampire is real, ‘tis Elon Musk. The reason third is simple, clean, and pure: A werewolf’s just, like, sexier, my dudes.

(GRIME dances like a ferret. There is rejoicing.)

Exeunt.

Enter LARA, FELAGUND, and SHERLOCK, accompanied by the MANGO MERCHANT.

LARA I feel these words have struck me to my core. Is this, the world, collapsing to the ground Or is it just my weary, shaking soul?

FELAGUND ‘Twould seem my lady needs to see St. Luke.

SHERLOCK I’ve heard his fellows sell a Pepsi cheap.

(The MANGO MERCHANT offers a mango. All weep.)

For shitposting's a passion of my life;

My not'fications since have blown their lid --

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THREE WINNERS WILL BE SELECTED!! READ BELOW FOR MORE!!

do you guys think there was a tiny part of ranboo during the second episode who still held hatred for the demon persona, and thus, Charlie? do you guys think there was a small part of ranboo who despite everything still wanted revenge. Ranboo was never an angel, never a baby boy, never innocent. Who’s to say a tiny, tiny part of them wasn’t wanting revenge still. of course he still cares for Charlie greatly! goes without saying! but while the axe forgot, the tree still distantly remembers.

it’s a sort of unwilling grudge. sure, Charlie didn’t know what he was doing, and it was still forced! but think about it from Ranboo’s perspective. if you were suddenly shoved into a cabin with no memory of how you got there and had to face an hostile demon who treated this all like a game, wouldn’t you hold a grudge too? even if you really didn’t want to? you aren’t morally in the right, but.. it’s not like you’re unreasonable for it.

sure, holding grudges is bad, getting revenge is bad. but didn’t he cause you pain too? you’re just returning the favor. even if it’s overkill, you’re still returning the favor. when does revenge become overkill? Ranboo wouldn’t know. Ranboo’s been through hell and doesn’t remember or register what theyre really doing. They don’t know when men become monsters.