Unicellular "Enigma" Changes From Predator To Plant and Back 168
SilverEar writes "Imagine a creature that swims and preys on others, but once it eats a certain kind of plant, that plant grows inside it, causing the predator to lose its ability to prey and start using sunlight to make its food. Its preying mouth is replaced by an eye that is needed to find sunlight. This is the Hatena ('enigma' in Japanese). The kicker: when Hatena reproduces, one offspring is a peaceful photosynthesizer with the sun-seeking eye, while the other is yet again a predator with a voracious mouth."
PETA will be confused (Score:5, Funny)
Public Service Announcement (Score:5, Funny)
This is your creator deity... And this is your creator deity on drugs.
Ugh (Score:5, Funny)
Sound like my wife
Why does this sound so familiar? (Score:2, Funny)
Memeaholic (Score:5, Funny)
Re:PETA will be confused (Score:5, Funny)
Easy solution: they will demand that plants possess the same rights as animals. Since they already demand that animals possess the same rights as humans, it will then follow that they will choose not to eat plant-based food just as they refuse to eat animal-based food (i.e., meat). This will leave them without a source of food, and the smart ones will abandon the cause while the dumb ones will die off.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:PETA will be confused (Score:5, Funny)
This thing sounds worse than a Politician to me.
Fixed that for you.
Re:Memeaholic (Score:3, Funny)
I for one welcome our new single celled predatory overlords, but deride their single celled hippy photosynthesizing cousins.
Phylumist!
Re:Ugh (Score:2, Funny)
Sound like my wife
What's my father in law doing browsing Slashdot?
Re:Interesting find... (Score:5, Funny)
That sounds good, can you make some toast for me please? Someone else here is bound to be a butter knife, so maybe we can get a team effort going?
I hate to admit... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Public Service Announcement (Score:5, Funny)
I've known that since the momemt I heard about the platypus.
I still have this image of God and Devil sitting in a bar at the end of the universe, had a few beer, God doodles the platypus on a napkin and Devil manages to snort out a "dare ya!" between giggles.
Re:Sounds like the foundation for a 5-volume fanta (Score:4, Funny)
Please. Not so loud. Fox is looking for a sitcom theme for next season.
Gives a whole new meaning to... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:PETA will be confused (Score:4, Funny)
I suspect politicians are simply a colony of these. Their campaigning certainly is preditory, and once they get into office, they become vegetables.
Every 4 years they shed their sessile nature and hit the campaign trail again.
Re:Interesting find... (Score:2, Funny)
Oh my God! You're right! I don't anything for sure.
JESUS CHRIST! What if I'm really a toaster?
I mean, I have a lot of the same qualities as a human being, but that doesn't prove anything. What if I'm supposed to be making toast right now?!?!?
The toasters were created by man...they rebelled, they evolved, they look...Human!
Re:PETA will be confused (Score:3, Funny)
Carrot Juice is Murder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmK0bZl4ILM [youtube.com]
Old news (Score:5, Funny)
A food that, when eaten, transforms an agressive predator into a passive life form....
Wedding cake.
Re:Ugh (Score:3, Funny)
so at least you can bang her sun bathing sister, rite?