Archive for the ‘Parasite’ Category

African Tick Smuggles Itself Into US Inside Scientist’s Nose!

Saturday, October 12th, 2013

Shel Silverstein once had a poem about a snail that lived in your nose and would bite your finger off.

Maybe he was inspired by something that’s been going on in Africa that nobody’s ever paid much attention to…until now…

A US pathobiological science professor returned home from an excursion to Africa. Three days later he discovered he’d picked up a small hitchhiker. That small hitchhiker was a tick. It had hitched a ride inside his nose!

After removing the tick using forceps, a mirror and a small torch, the tick was hustled off to Georgia where its DNA was sequenced revealing that this little world traveler might possibly be an entirely new species.

Tony Goldberg, the professor harboring this tiny nightmare in his nose, is now rethinking his theories about how chimps and humans exchange pathogens. Upon further research, reports and high resolution photos turned up these same ticks hiding in chimps’ noses as well.

In a statement we can all relate to, Goldberg says, “”When you first realize you have a tick up your nose, it takes a lot of willpower not to claw your face off.”

We couldn’t agree more…and we don’t even have ticks in our noses.

[Web Pro News]

Posted in Africa, Bug, Chimpanzee, Insects, Monkeys, Parasite, Ticks, Weird Animals | Comments Off on African Tick Smuggles Itself Into US Inside Scientist’s Nose!

Evil Cats Linked To Dangerous Behavior

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Evil Cat

Many suspect that cats are “up to something.” Turns out that something is serving as a transportation system for parasites that make humans do foolishly dangerous things.

Toxioplasma gondi is a parasite that generally moves through a cat’s digestive system that is passed on to mice through the cat’s feces. Once infected, the parasite burrows into the internal organs of the mouse causing cysts and eventually making the mouse abandon it’s natural instincts and do everything it can to get the cat to kill it. Once eaten, the parasite passes again through the cat and finds a new host.

Unfortunately, Toxioplasma gondi can also infect other mammals, such as humans. That’s right. These parasites are taking over our brains, driving us to dangerous behavior, and causing mental illness! And all because we keep them in our homes and clean up their waste.

In some populations over 60% of the population is infected. Pregnant women and people with immune diseases can have serious side effects to the parasite, but the rest of us only have to worry about randomly trying to kill ourselves.

Explains base jumping.

[The Economist]

Posted in Animals, Parasite, Zombie | 1 Comment »

Eat Raw Crayfish, Get Incredibly Rare Parasitic Worm

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

skitched-20100526-214424.jpg

First the never ending oil slick and now a rare parasitic lung worm has been linked to raw crayfish. Will America ever regain trust in cajon cuisine?

These particular infections were all linked to folks consuming the shellfish from the river of Missouri which scientists now believe is a symptom of living in Missouri and being really bored.

“The infection, called paragonimiasis, is very rare, so it’s extremely unusual to see this many cases in one medical center in a relatively short period of time,” says Washington University infectious diseases specialist Gary Weil, MD, professor of medicine and of molecular microbiology, who treated some of the patients. “We are almost certain there are other people out there with the infection who haven’t been diagnosed. That’s why we want to get the word out.”

Just os everyone knows, if you don’t eat raw crayfish, you should be fine. The more you know.

[Science Daily]

Posted in Parasite | Comments Off on Eat Raw Crayfish, Get Incredibly Rare Parasitic Worm