Parasite tales: The jewel wasp's zombie slave - Carl Zimmer
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This is stranger than science fiction. The jewel wasp and the cockroach have a disgusting and fascinating parasitic relationship. The jewel wasp stuns the cockroach, and months later, a jewel wasp hatches out of the cockroach. At TEDYouth 2012, Carl Zimmer walks us through how this happens and why it personally fascinates him.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness and Robles disease, is a parasitic disease caused by infection by Onchocerca volvulus, a nematode (roundworm).Frederic Libersat of Ben Gurion University in Israel wrote a paper on the emerald wasp and the free will of cockroaches. Carl Zimmer's blog post about Libersat's work.A scary video of the Emerals Wasp.
A zombie is an "animated corpse resurrected by mystical means, such as witchcraft". The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli. Since the late 19th century, zombies have acquired notable popularity, especially in North American and European folklore.Diagnosing a zombie: Brain and body - Tim Verstynen & Bradley Voytek
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