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Quickies Science

Parasites That Can Control Insect Minds 335

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the welcome-yet-another-overlord dept.
Ant writes to tell us that NewScientist is running an article about an interesting parasite that apparently has the power to 'brainwash' its host. From the article: "The parasitic Nematomorph hairworm (Spinochordodes tellinii) develops inside land-dwelling grasshoppers and crickets until the time comes for the worm to transform into an aquatic adult. Somehow mature hairworms brainwash their hosts into behaving in way they never usually would - causing them to seek out and plunge into water."
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Parasites That Can Control Insect Minds More

Parasites That Can Control Insect Minds

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  • Parasites Controlling Insects? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:33PM (#13472631)
    This could explain George W. Bush...

  • No Link? (Score:5, Informative)

    by DosBubba ( 766897 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:33PM (#13472635)
    Here [newscientist.com] you go.

    • Over here in the UK.... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by FyRE666 ( 263011 ) * on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:42PM (#13472704) Homepage
      We call these things "politicians".

    • Re:No Link? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by flyingsquid ( 813711 )
      Doesn't the rabies virus sort of do the same thing? By making the animal agressive, it makes it more likely that the host will bite another animal, and the virus will be passed on.

      • Re:No Link? (Score:5, Informative)

        by Blue Stone ( 582566 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @05:44PM (#13473066) Homepage Journal
        There's that parasite that's found in cat faeces, that when ingested by a rat, will cause a rat to become reckless and unafraid of cat smells (previously running a mile) so that it will likely be killed, infect the cat responsible and carry on the cycle.
        It also makes humans who ingest it more wreckless and therefore likely to get killed - and provide the opportunity for their infected corpses to be consumed by another potential host.

        The thread worm (?) in Africa - the one that can come out anywhere on the body, not through stools - for example the leg, or eye or wherever - is passed on through drinking parasite infested water. At the time of emergence, it will make its host, just as likely a human as any other animal, attracted to water, and they will wander to the water, immerse themselves in it, the parasite will emerge and infect the water.

        Parasites altering their host's behaviour is not news in and of itself.

        • Hey the example intrested me, so I gave it a search. It is actually the Guinea Worm, and you're damn right it is horrible. A good article on it is here [wikipedia.org]. I don't think Wikipedia is quite as good on this topic though.

          I get the impression that the reason the person goes to the water is because they want to stop their leg hurting, it dooesn't actually make them attracted to water. I don't know that for sure though because I couldn't find any specific information about the water bit.

          The Thread Worm I think makes
        • > will cause a rat to become reckless and unafraid of cat smells ... so that it will likely be killed, infect the cat responsible and carry on the cycle...

          Or it will torment the cat using various tricks, tripwires, and other items. In rare cases, it will even involve other members of its genus (i.e. "country cousins"). Cf. "Anvils and ironing boards in the rodent-cat dialectic", authors Tom and Jerry.

          In rare cases, the cat becomes immune to death, so that the rodent can torture it indefinitely (e.g.

        • Re:No Link? (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Angostura ( 703910 )
          The cat parasite in question is toxoplasmosis, and where I am (the UK) about 30% of the population are thought to be infected. Which is presumably excellent news for armed forces recruiters.

  • Khan!!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Ritz_Just_Ritz ( 883997 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:34PM (#13472641)
    Fortunately, those parasites are only found on Seti Alpha V.
    • These sound exactly like the Goa'uld. I wonder if their eyes glow...

  • And the story is submitted (Score:4, Funny)

    by karvind ( 833059 ) <karvind@NoSPAM.gmail.com> on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:35PM (#13472649) Journal
    by Ant :)

    Sorry couldn't help it.

  • When asked for comment... (Score:5, Funny)

    by The Breeze ( 140484 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:36PM (#13472653) Homepage
    An "interested observer", was asked to comment on the ramifications of the mind-controlling insects. The observer simply looked at the reporter and said, "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

  • Behold the evolution of...... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jjh37997 ( 456473 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:37PM (#13472664) Homepage
    Behold the evolution of the Goa'uld!
    • And we keep trying to tell Daniel "Nothing of the host survives!"

      Maybe he will listen when a 3 meter long goa'uld snakes out of his former lovers carcase leaving an empty husk behind (like with these grasshoppers).

      O'Neil: "See, Daniel? *Nothing* of the host survives! Give it up you self-righteous little twerp!"

      Teal'c: "Indeed"


  • Now we can retire "The dog ate my homework" for something more modern.

    • Now we can retire "The dog ate my homework" for something more modern.

      In Soviet Russia, mind-controlling parasite overlords make you eat your homework !

  • In the past, we've kept reptile and amphibian pets. To feed them, we purchased crickets. The crickets were positively suicidal. If any significant water source was available, they would jump in and drown.

    Now I know why.

    I know the juvenile nematomorphs are supposed to only parasitize insects and the adults are free living, but I wonder if they had any effect on the reptiles that ingested the crickets? Reptiles are difficult enough to keep without worrying about some sub-clinical infection or infestation.

  • There is also a jungle fungus that does this (Score:5, Interesting)

    by lawpoop ( 604919 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:43PM (#13472711) Homepage Journal
    In a field study trip in Ecuador, we learned about a fugus that, as a spore, infects an insect and corrupts their nervous system, causing them to crawl to the top of whatever plant/tree they are on top of. Then, at the top, the fungus consumes the insect, while it is still clining to the branch. Then, the insect shell bursts open, spreading out spores from the upper canopy.

    VERY scary, very science fiction. What if this happened to people, but the behavior was at least passable, until it was 'too late'?

    • VERY scary, very science fiction. What if this happened to people, but the behavior was at least passable, until it was 'too late'?

      I believe it already occurs. People produce spores called 'children'. We are brainwashed into sending them to 'learning centers' where they exchange germs and transport them back home. This also explains why they have trouble preventing various mucous-like substances from escaping their body.
    • Well, there is a very thin line here for some behaviors. How would you consider sneezing and coughing, if the "reason" the pathogen is irritating those membranes and not just having a nice time in the bloodstream would be to be transmitted? How is forcing you to cough every minute any different from, say, a STD that managed to get the bearers to, well, sexually transmit.
    • Q: What if this happened to people, but the behavior was at least passable, until it was 'too late'

      A: It does happen -- They become politicians
    • What if this happened to people, but the behavior was at least passable, until it was 'too late'?

      Finally, a logical explanation on why so many people voted for George Bush.

    • Re:There is also a jungle fungus that does this (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I saw it in a BBC documentary once(where else?). The mushroom grew right out of the ant's head. And apparently the ant can scream so loud even humans can hear it.
      Here's one description(source:
      http://www.mjt.org/exhibits/stinkant.htm [mjt.org])

      Our planet's rain forests - rich matrices of life which exist primarily in tropical regions - provide us with unique opportunity to observe life in all of its manifold and perplexing beauty. Most rain forests date back some two to three hundred million years. This extreme age

  • That is amazing. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by hungrygrue ( 872970 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:44PM (#13472724) Homepage
    That is just incredible, especially when you think about the fact that it is able to control multiple species. Wow. It would be very interesting to see if other species not as closely related would behave in the same way, various beetles, for instance.

  • What about cat parasites controlling humans? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tyroneking ( 258793 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:45PM (#13472728)
    Basically, a parasite in cats passes to humans and a research study revealed that...
    "...women infected with toxoplasma spent more money on clothes and were consistently rated as more attractive. "We found they were more easy-going, more warm-hearted, had more friends and cared more about how they looked," he said. "However, they were also less trustworthy and had more relationships with men." "By contrast, the infected men appeared to suffer from the "alley cat" effect: becoming less well groomed undesirable loners who were more willing to fight. They were more likely to be suspicious and jealous. "They tended to dislike following rules," Flegr said."
    Here's the first link I could find that refers to the story I first read in the UK Times a while back (the link to the Times in the blog is broken but the best bit of the Times story was some suggestion that this parasite might explain the behaviour of the cat-loving French): http://althouse.blogspot.com/2005/06/have-cats-aff ected-your-brain-yet.html [blogspot.com]
    and another to the Guardian (UK) on a similar vein: http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/thisweek/story/0,12 977,1048642,00.html [guardian.co.uk]
    CATS MUST BE STOPPED!

  • This is done in other relationships too. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Pinkoir ( 666130 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:46PM (#13472737)
    A similar thing occurs with wasp larvae and spiders. The spider basically flips out under the control of the larva's venom and spins a web unlike anything it would normal have spun but which has a little protective pouch. The spider would then go into the pouch and wait until the larva kills it at which point it would be eaten. Here's a link [nature.com] to the abstract at nature.com for anybody who has a subscription there.

    -Pinkoir
  • Take a look at all the lobbyists and politicians in Washington DC.

    You decide who is the insect and who is the parasite.
  • Year 2098,

    In a press release today, Google announced that it will be shipping a new brain implant nano-probe that will take control of your consciousness. From Google's press release "Are you tired of going to work 9 to 5, day in day out? You're in luck, with Braintop technology, you won't have to endure the tedium of daily life anymore. With a simple dial you can set the number of hours you would like to be controlled, and then just click on the autopilot button to wake up 8 hours later, when your worksh

  • There are some species of fungus that attack insects and change the behavior of the victim. The last dying act of the host is to climb to the top of the nearest grass/plant stem bite down on the stem with a death grip and die there. The fungus then sprouts from the body (it looks attractive in a creepy sort of way) . The perch provides a good place for the fungus to disperse its spores.
  • "Ant writes" how can we be sure he wasn't brainwashed too? :)

  • Another example of this (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Tikiman ( 468059 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:51PM (#13472770)
    There is a parasitic wasp [abc.net.au] that paralyzes and lays a larva on a certain kind of spider. The larva survives by feeding off the fluids of the spider. When it comes time to mature, the larva induces a spider to spin a different kind of web that better supports the wasp cocoon. It then, of course, consumes the spider.
  • I remember a story that came out a few years ago about a crab parasite that would attach to a crabs genitals, sterilize it, and then secrete hormones that would make the crab think it was a female fanning it's eggs. ( But the crab would be nurturning the parasite instead. ) Here's a link to a short essay that's full of more examples: http://www2.nau.edu/~bah/BIO471/Reader/Sapolsky_20 03.pdf [nau.edu]

  • More discussions and ant parasites... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by antdude ( 79039 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:52PM (#13472775) Homepage Journal
    I posted this on my ant message board as well in this thread [ezboard.com]. It has more comments.

    Ants have parasites as well according to this thread/discussion [ezboard.com] : "There is a parasite that cause behavioural change in ants. It's called lancet fluke. The parasitized ants become "ant zombies". They're influenced to cling to grass, until eventually eaten by herbivores. I sometimes find decapitated ant heads clinging to grasses. These may well be such cases."

  • Lancet Liver Fluke (Score:3, Interesting)

    by moof1138 ( 215921 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:54PM (#13472783)
    The Lancet Liver Fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum [google.com] behaves in a similarly creepy way. It starts out infecting snails. When it infects them, the flukes mature for a while, then at a certain point they cause the snail to expel slime balls containing the flukes. The slime balls are eaten by ants. The fluke infects the ants, and change their behavior, causing them to behave normally until evening sets in, when they climb to the top of grasses and clamp on to the leaf with their mandibles, causing a higher lileihood of cows eating them. They then migrate to the liver of the cow, where they live until they deposit eggs, which are pooped out and eaten by snails starting the whole cycle again.

    • This reminds me of a story I read once about hookworms. You can (allegedly) become infected when they step on one. The worm burrows into the skin, hunting around until it finds a blood vessel. It then rides along in the blood stream until it gets to the lungs. The cause a minor lung infection; your body reacts by generating mucus. You cough up the mucus, and (hopefully, for the worm) swallow it. It then travels through your digestive system and attaches itself to your small intesting. This is where it wants

  • This is ancient. Parasite Rex came out four years ago, received extensive media coverage (I heard about in on NPR), and describes many examples like this. What's news for you isn't necessarily news for nerds.

  • Selfish Gene (Score:3, Interesting)

    by hey ( 83763 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @04:55PM (#13472798) Journal
    I few examples of this were discussed in The Selfish Gene [ox.ac.uk]. Its not the parasite that's self but its genes or so goes the thesis.
    • Nod, I've just finished reading this (something that I should have done long ago).

      It is filled with lots of examples of this type of thing (and other bizarre parasitic cases) and talks a lot about the reasons for it.

      In particular his idea of the 'Extended phenotype' where the influence of a gene is on the whole of the environment not just the 'vehicle' that carries and reproduces the gene.
  • "Fascinating Captain"

    Unraveling this one may require Spock's scientific genius.

    The article is long on conjecture and short on fact. It may be, for instance, that the parasite commandeers the host's motor functions and drives the host to haphazardly hop until, on occassion, it lands in water.

    I doubt even the behaviour of Drosophila Melanogaster [wikipedia.org], one of the most studied organisms, is known well enough to allow prediction of the exact neurotransmitters that would, say, turn it off eating fruit.

    To suggest that

  • Interesting, but old news. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Kafir ( 215091 ) <qaffir@hotmail.com> on Saturday September 03, 2005 @05:02PM (#13472831)
    It's been known for years, if not decades, that parasites can influence their hosts' behavior to the benefit of the parasite. There are flukes (genus Leucochloridium)with a life cycle that involves being transmitted from snails to other animals—the fluke affects the snail's brain and causes the snail to become light-seeking rather than light-avoiding, which means the snails climb to the tops of plants, where they are easy prey for birds—the next host in the fluke's life cycle. More about that (and the evolutionary logic behind it) here [findarticles.com]. Another fluke [corante.com] has a similar life cycle involving ants, which it drives to the tops of grass blades where they can be eaten by sheep (which again become its next hosts).

    A more obvious example might be rabies—animals with rabies ("mad dogs", most famously) have an irrational tendency to attack and bite other animals, unprovoked—which is how rabies is spread.
    • Found another interesting example, a parasite ( Toxoplasma gondii [bbc.co.uk] ) that infects cats and rats—rats are infected by eating cat feces, then the parasite affects their brains to make them less fearful, and more likely to be eaten by cats. Toxoplasma can have neurological effects in humans, too (especially those with weakened immune systems), though fortunately people tend not to get eaten by cats.
  • Somehow mature hairworms brainwash their hosts into behaving in way they never usually would - causing them to seek out and plunge into water.

    Man, I loved lemmings.

    Though it was equally fun to simply make them go *pop*.

    -Adam

  • Snail brain control (Score:5, Informative)

    by canavan ( 14778 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @05:12PM (#13472891)
    There's a parasite that does similar things to snails [smu.edu]. It makes the snails move to exposed places where they are visible to birds, get eaten, and the parasite gets distributed by bird excrement. Aditionally, the worm pulsating inside the eye stalk looks really gross.

  • The Guinea worm... (Score:5, Informative)

    by jbwolfe ( 241413 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @05:13PM (#13472893) Homepage
    ...drives humans to water for pain relief- not exactly mind control, but the same result:
    from Guinea Worm Disease Facts...
    What are the signs and symptoms of Guinea worm disease?

    A few days to hours before the worm emerges, the person might develop a fever and have swelling and pain in the area where the worm is. A blister develops and then opens into a wound. When the wound is immersed in water, the worm begins to emerge. Most worms appear on the legs and feet, but they can occur anywhere on the body. After the worm emerges, the wound often becomes painfully swollen and infected.
    http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/guinea.html [astdhpphe.org]
    Guinea Worm Disease Facts
  • As noted in the article, there is a http://www.canal.ird.fr/programmes/recherches/gril lons/ [videoclipmentioned]">video about these parasites.
  • If you like this kind of stuff, there is an excelent book called Parasite Rex: [amazon.com] Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures that you can buy by an author named Carl Zimmer. I read it a few months ago, it was facinating.

    As a side note, some of the log entries in Resident Evil 4 reference some of these kind of things.

  • Somehow mature hairworms brainwash their hosts into behaving in way they never usually would - causing them to seek out and plunge into water.

    Just like a rabid dog behaves in the unusual way of biting everyone so that the disease can spread? The mechanism in grasshopers is just unknown, but this isn't *amazing* at all.

    Hell, just as a parasitic amoeba makes me shit like I never before, so that they can leave my body and spread to another host... Slashdot news!!!

  • Use this to your advantage. (Score:4, Funny)

    by glass_window ( 207262 ) on Saturday September 03, 2005 @07:36PM (#13473562)
    1) Find grasshoppers and/or crickets randomly plunging to their watery graves.
    2) Show some friends and explain why they're doing it. Bet them money when they don't believe it.
    3) Show them the newscientist article on this.
    4) Profit!!!!!!

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