tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6007972849469702622.post4875390011316874062..comments2023-10-26T11:06:45.662-04:00Comments on The Cellular Scale: Neuroscientists should study Zombie AntsTheCellularScalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18379669883853001278noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6007972849469702622.post-27938004038858489132012-06-13T10:32:10.282-04:002012-06-13T10:32:10.282-04:00Michael - Fascinating that the specific destructio...Michael - Fascinating that the specific destruction of 4 cells might lead to such a distinct behavior. I have heard about that sheep-eating-grass-getting-parasites thing, but I don't know a lot about it. I'll have to look further into it. <br />Anonymous - I don't know if this could be applied to biological warfare (yet) because it is so specific. A fungus that creates a zombie ant can't act on a cricket or moth. Each fungus is species-specific. I suppose it could be possible to study the fungus and target it to a particular species, but I don't think enough is known yet.TheCellularScalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18379669883853001278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6007972849469702622.post-58835280676172176222012-06-09T00:40:03.389-04:002012-06-09T00:40:03.389-04:00this means new adavances in biological warfarethis means new adavances in biological warfareAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6007972849469702622.post-3178117397247887742012-06-05T07:50:20.926-04:002012-06-05T07:50:20.926-04:00Many years ago, I learned in a parasitology class ...Many years ago, I learned in a parasitology class about a sheep tapeworm that uses ants as an intermediate host. The story goes (I haven't looked this up to confirm it, but this is just an extreme example of a pretty common story in parasites) that once a threshold population of worm larvae have built up, a few of them migrate into the ant's head, eat FOUR PARTICULAR CELLS there, and reverse the ant's aversion to light, which makes many of them climb to the top of nearby grass stalks, where they have a good chance of being eaten by the sheep that are the definitive host of the tapeworms. Acanthocephalans achieve a similar response in their hosts, but appear to do it chemically. The last I heard, they were being studied by pesticide company researchers trying to develop a "pre-spray" that would get a lot of targeted pests into the open just before actual spraying.<br /><br />There's a lot of stuff to study out there...Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271978062869510666noreply@blogger.com