THERE’S more to this worm than meets the eye.

In fact he, or she, or both, is at the cutting edge of science as Professor Mark Hodson will demonstrate at a talk in Oxford next week.

Prof Hodson, pictured, has been using the UK’s national synchrotron, at Harwell, which produces powerful beams of light, to understand more about the environment earthworms live in.

Prof Hodson said: “Earthworms are far more complicated than we realise and are able to survive in all sorts of toxic soil.

“We use the Diamond synchrotron to shed light on their secret lives.

“Diamond’s X-rays help us to understand how earthworms cope with toxic levels of metals and how they affect the soil they live in.”

Prof Hodson’s talk will take place on Friday, March 16, at the University Museum of Natural History in Parks Road.

It is part of the Oxfordshire Science Festival which runs until Sunday, March 18.

For more information visit oxfordshiresciencefestival.co.uk.

Picture: Sean Dillow