Parasites

[youtubehd]m3x3TMdkGdQ[/youtubehd]

[youtubehd]CfqO1U6lfDs[/youtubehd]

I'm fairly well read when it comes to entomopathogenic fungi (the infamous Cordyceps caterpillar fungus for example) and their ability to warp behavior in a number of insects like spiders, ants, crickets, etc..

I can't help but wonder how many parasitic species there actually are in the world.

Is it possible that the behavior of many humans is less in their control than we think?

guy in 1st vid alan moores twin bro?

also i think if something weird is going on as far as humans are concerned, its prob more like in 'they live'

would explain evrything

Sapolsky is my homeboy. Dude is wicked smart.

  On 3/27/2014 at 5:38 AM, MisterE said:

i think if something weird is going on as far as humans are concerned, its prob more like in 'they live'

this is true

More like this

Nature doesn't fuck around..

or both

Was going to post a photo of cordyceps spitting mushrooms and mycelial fibers out of a spider. On second thought I think i'll keep that out of the thread so as to not horrify unsuspecting readers.

Well okay.. here's one (weird spider warning):

Humans are parasites.

  On 3/27/2014 at 6:19 AM, fiznuthian said:

Was going to post a photo of cordyceps spitting mushrooms and mycelial fibers out of a spider. On second thought I think i'll keep that out of the thread so as to not horrify unsuspecting readers.

  On 3/27/2014 at 8:57 AM, xxx said:

We could use a few more parasites tbh. IgE is an immunoglobulin in our body that is uniquely suited to attacking the large molecular patterns found on worms, flukes, etc. The trouble in the West is that IgE is fucking bored and so it winds up turning on us in the form of allergies.

Wait, I just noticed videos. I'm on mobile and can't watch them so apologies if I repeated the same thing one of those guys said

http://youtu.be/QDTgJ56Laak

I had no knowledge of Robert Sapolsky, I love this guy! Fucking hell, he's like the guy I imagine myself to be, except a lot smarter.

  On 3/27/2014 at 5:30 AM, fiznuthian said:

[youtubehd]m3x3TMdkGdQ[/youtubehd]

Wow, I had no idea Toxoplasmosis was so amazing!

Nematomorpha worms are another mind-control parasite that chemically compel their host insect to find water and drown itself at which time the adult worm emerges to reproduce in the water. It's an utterly shocking thing to see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcj0Srt8i6k

Jesus those worms are enormous compared to the size of the hosts

nuke this shit from orbit.

by the way anyone read about that 70 yr. old man who had an untreated cancer on his head which had eaten through his skull, and flies had filled his brain meat with a bunch of maggots, but he was still somewhat lucid and able to converse?

I watched the video, certainly one of the most repulsive things I've ever seen (or contemplated for that matter).

won't link but you can find via reddit, and probably google

  On 3/29/2014 at 12:45 AM, lumpenprol said:

by the way anyone read about that 70 yr. old man who had an untreated cancer on his head which had eaten through his skull, and flies had filled his brain meat with a bunch of maggots, but he was still somewhat lucid and able to converse?

 

I watched the video, certainly one of the most repulsive things I've ever seen (or contemplated for that matter).

 

won't link but you can find via reddit, and probably google

Perhaps the Man enjoyed what was happening >:)

About that vid on the 70yrs old man with untreated cancer: You only watch that shit when you have a serious case of toxoplasmosis.

Edit: sapolski nows his shit. Interesting man, but that beard... O lawd that beard. It scares me like a dark alley in da hood.

  On 3/29/2014 at 8:45 AM, goDel said:

Edit: sapolski nows his shit. Interesting man, but that beard... O lawd that beard. It scares me like a dark alley in da hood.

I agree. It introduces an element of uncertainty into my life that I'm not comfortable with.

Sapolsky was also the dude that followed some rubbish eating baboon group for several years. The alpha males were always the ones to eat the good bits from the rubbish first and one time they ate foul meat that killed most of them and lo and behold, the group became much more mellow and egalitarian when the alpha males were gone. Makes you think. But maybe that's because I am such a beta male.

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As a corollary to the alpha risk taking, I was reminded of all of this the other day by a dumb shit driver who passed me while weaving in and out of traffic with considerable speed. He was putting people in danger by using zero signals and shortly after he passed me he forced a guy to swerve out of the lane to not get hit. Like any piece of shit, he just continued speeding on his way doing more of the same. He was driving opposite the direction of hospitals so it couldn't have been so urgent as to endanger others.

I couldn't but wonder whether the guy is really the end result of a parasite infection. Maybe he is no less an absolute moron than he is just a vessel for another organism will. His amygdala is impaired. Just like Sapolsky referenced, he could be just like the motorcycle crash victims that show high rates of Toxo infection. Or maybe the guy was just another alpha-as-fuck upper level primate that is aggressive, unempathetic, and otherwise a careless self serving drone.

I secretly hoped i'd witness his car crash into a wall so some poor family and kids won't be the victim of his stupidity. I really hate these kinds of people. But I feel you bros, it's just another worm induced neuropathy right?

Embarked on a Sapolski lecture series binge thanks

toxoplasmosis is just a myth perpetuated by anti-feline bigots

edit:

:looks down:

:slowly realizes he's been eating cat poop like popcorn:

oh god