Michael Werner, University of Utah – Dissecting Fact and Fiction in Dune

Can we learn about the natural world from works of fiction?

Michael Werner, assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah, reads up to find out.

Michael Werner is an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah. He uses worms to study developmental biology.

Dissecting Fact and Fiction in Dune

I’ve always been a science fiction fan, which influenced my career in science. Science fiction allows readers to explore the ‘near possible,’ blending science and fantasy as it examines existential questions.

I read Dune in college. There’s a lot of ecology in Dune, with interesting political overtones. Also, the worms are really, really cool.

The sandworms in Dune, called Shai-Hulud, are similar – on a much larger scale of course! –to worms I study called nematodes, or roundworms, which are the most abundant animal on Earth. Nematodes are found everywhere, from ocean bottoms to mountain tops. My colleague Julie Jung and I published a paper on our discovery of nematodes in Utah’s Great Salt Lake – just the third type of animal known to live there.

And the sandworms’ teeth? That’s not necessarily fiction. There are worms on our planet, including nematodes, that have teeth structures used to predate other worms or cut through plants and fungi. The longest nematode I know of inhabits the placenta of sperm whales and is about 28-feet long.

In contrast, the sandworms in Dune are enormous. We’re talking four football fields in length, making them much bigger than the largest animal on Earth —  blue whales. Like Dune’s sandworms, nematodes sense vibrations and they use that ability to find host insects in soil.

Nematodes are a critical part of our ecosystem as they decompose and eat bacteria and their waste feeds plants. Dune’s sandworms produce the most valuable resource, called spice, in this fictional universe, which enables the people on Arrakis to live extraordinarily long lives and also enables interstellar travel.

Are there other compounds excreted by nematodes or other worms that might be useful? The answer is yes. Nematodes produce ascarosides that can do amazing things. They can increase the adult lifespan of nematodes, pause development, attract mates or detect predators.

Can ascarocides be used for interstellar travel? That remains to be determined!