5. a. Dracunculus medinensis, or the Guinea worm, has plagued humanity for thousands of years. This parasite enters the human body initially as larvae from drinking water. As the worms grow older, they begin to approach the skin of the individual. The worm causes blisters on the skin that burst and cause massive pain. In order to extinguish the pain, victims jump into water; however, the water provides a better situation for the worm to reproduce, so the parasite releases larvae. In other words, the parasite manipulates a host to behave a certain way. The easiest way to combat the parasite is to avoid soothing the pain in the water, since the parasite will fail to deploy the larvae. b. Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga, a wasp, has a parasitic relationship with a spider, Plesiometa argyra. The wasp injects poison into the spider, paralysing it; afterwards, the wasp places an egg on top of the spider’s abdomen. The egg quickly hatches and the resulting larva sucks the blood of the spider. Eventually, it manipulates the spider through the use of chemicals, making the spider move back and forth while weaving a web specifically designed to act as a cocoon for the larva. When the web is complete, the larva sucks all of the spider’s blood and drops the remains to the jungle floor. Scientists, however, have yet to pinpoint the actual method the larva uses to manipulate the host. The biochemical it uses is extremely potent, as it has been tested to last a few days. c.
In the film, Foul Water, Fiery Serpent, former president, Jimmy Carter shows his process of eradicating Guinea Worm disease. With the help of Director Gary Strieker, Carter educates viewers on how the disease forms, how it has spread throughout countries, and how it will soon be defeated. When Guinea worm first surfaced, there were 3.5 million cases in 20 countries worldwide. With the help of Jimmy Carter, his campaign members, and many more, they have managed to drop these cases down to 3,190 by the year 2009. With some statistical facts at the end of the documentary, Guinea worm is likely to be the next disease in the history of mankind to be eradicated from the earth, right after smallpox. It was also the first parasitic disease to be eradicated, and the first disease to be eradicated without the use of vaccines or medicines. With this campaign, reported cases went from 4,136 in 2007, to 242 cases by 2009 in Ghana alone. None of this would have been possible if it were not for the awareness in global health, and the mission to make the world a healthier, safer place to live.
In this experiment, we tested three different environments, soil, sand, and a leafy mixture to see which one a pill bug would prefer the most. Originally, we believed that the pill bug would find the leafy substance to be most favorable. Five pill bugs and then a single pill bug was placed in the center so that it could select one of the substrates. The data collected at the end of the experiment opposed our original hypothesis as we discovered that the most favored environment was the soil. This finding could correlate with the dark color of the soil closely matching the color of the pill bug or the moisture in the soil.
The goldenrod gall fly (or Eurosta solidaginis) is a parasite whose life depends upon and revolves around the goldenrod plant. After mating, the female gall fly uses its ovipositor (structure used to inject eggs into a plant) to insert its eggs into the stem of a goldenrod plant. After about ten days, the fly larvae hatch and begin to eat the inside of the plant. The saliva of the larva contains a chemical that causes the plant to swell, creating what is known as a gall; this serves as a food source and a protective shell for the growing larva. When fall approaches, the larva digs an escape tunnel by which it will later exit the gall as an adult; however, the larva does not complete the tunnel, instead it leaves a thin membrane of plant material for protection (Abrahamson & Heinrich, n.d.). E. solidaginis larvae then pupate in late winter or early spring, and leave the gall as adults soon afterwards (Abrahamson, Sattler, McCrea, & Weis, 1989). Once freed from the gall,
Chanoch Goldfarb Book Review Plagues and Peoples by William H. McNeil is a book about the interaction between humans and parasites. The book is divided into six very long sections, each one covering a different time period. McNeill goes through history, starting before the dawn of civilization until shortly before the eradication of smallpox (the book was published in 1976). The first two chapters are devoted to the origin and dispersion of human populations throughout the globe. McNeil shows that every disease has a minimum threshold of susceptible hosts that it needs to be able to survive.
The book chosen was “The New Killer Diseases”, because it seemed to be interesting and covered a great deal of information that was learned in class. The book discusses how we should fear the unknown when it comes to fighting the new killer diseases that could evolve and spread at any moment. It is scary to think at any moment that a new disease could develop causing an epidemic. The examples of stories of patients that were discussed made the book more interesting and easier to understand the concepts of the new diseases. The scientific research throughout the book gives readers a clear understanding how germs threaten all of mankind. We need to protect ourselves, families, and encourage the public to stay up to
Most parasitic diseases can not be contracted in the United States but when traveling, you can catch it. Luckily, you can take some precautions to avoid contracting them. There are some diseases contracted by consuming contaminated water and food. Some of the preventative measures that should be taken to avoid this is keeping away from drinking the water, swimming only in designated swimming areas, not swimming in freshwater and avoiding swallowing water when swimming, steer clear from cooked food from street vendors, raw vegetables, and unpasteurized dairy foods such as milk or cheese. You should also get specific vaccinations before entering different countries like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Influenza, Measles, Polio, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis
Bombus norvegicus, the bumblebee, is a social parasite that invades the nest of the species Bombus hypnorum. Females of B. norvegicus enter the nest of B. hypnorum and take the place of the former queen of the nest so that the workers of the host nest can rear the offspring of B. norvegicus. Females of B. norvegicus lack the necessary biological tools to rear offspring on their own and rely solely on invading another species’ nest in order to do so. In order to invade the host nest, B. norvegicus must use a variety of different mechanisms to enter the host nest and bypass their defense system as well as remain inside of the host nest permanently. One such way to do this is to employ the use of offensive chemicals that are able to influence the behavior of the host workers.
Guinea Worm disease caused by the infection of a guinea worm also called dracunculiasis. The infection is spread through water sources that contains the guinea worm in which they don’t present symptoms that fast. After a year of been infected that patient present symptoms of intense pains of burning mostly in their legs and dizziness, as we have seen in the video where the disease appears every April of each year. This disease is mainly found in Africa.
A photo of a spider looking like an upturned dish is able to easily camouflage itself in a twig. The photo of Wrap-around Spider shared on a famous information portal has prompted several nervous reactions.
In a first of its kind experiment, Scientists have set out to determine whether hairworms voluntarily change the behavior of their terrestrial hosts so that they are more likely to seek and remain close to water. Over two consecutive summers, scientists gathered a list of insects which visited the swimming pool and monitored their actions and behavior to see whether their hypothesis was correct. In previous accounts of this theory, people have found that insects who have been infected by hairworms will unwillingly jump into an area with an abundance of water, not knowing that they are in danger. Once the host has entered water, hairworms have a more
When traveling to and from exotic locations, vacationers are warned about drinking untreated water, swimming in freshwater lakes and streams, and against eating certain foods. The risks for contracting a parasitic disease while abroad are pretty well defined and as a traveler you are made aware. Less known are the risks here at home. It is a fact however that parasitic diseases in the US are on the rise. According to Dr. Oz “approximately 1 in 3 Americans is infected with an intestinal parasite at any given time.” Specific statistic are not available because most Americans who are infected may be unaware. Often the symptoms of neglected parasitic infections are troublesome, however, vague. Therefore treatment is not immediately sought and even
It doesn’t have to be that way. There are alternatives to consider using. One of them is to use other insects. Shimon Steinberg is a chief scientist at Bio-Bee, and his mission is to replace pesticides with plant-friendly, pest-consuming insects. According to Steinberg from his Ted Talk segment, And here comes the salvation, through this parasitic wasp. Here we are not talking about a predator.Here we are talking a parasite -- not a two-legged parasite, but an eight-legged parasite, of course.This is a parasitic wasp, again, two millimeters long, slender, a very quick and sharp flier. And here you can see this parasite in action, like in an acrobatic maneuver. She stands vis-à-vis in front of the victim at the right-hand side, bending its abdomen
Parasites are living organisms that survive through other organs in the body. Although some parasites may not affect the body that they are surviving off of, other parasites can affect a body so much that it can make the person really sick. There are many different ways to get a parasitic infection. For example, a parasitic infection can spread through water, soil, waste, food and sexual contact with someone who is already infected. Once one is infected then the parasite can multiply causing damage to the organs and the rest of the
If one faces these symbiotes, at first he most likely will see the burgeon-like body of Anthoza. It looks just like a large flower ready to blossom, spreading sweet aroma around, alluring careless creatures to her. But in fact this is not a flower and not even a plant – it’s a colony of small polyp-like animals, and a burgeon is not their body, but an organic structure
Not only are humans threatened by viral and bacterial infections, there are various parasites that also invade the human body. Parasitic infections are common in underdeveloped countries and are a prominent threat in rural areas. Though parasitic infections are known to happen in well-developed countries such as the United States. Contaminated water supplies, contact with infected animals, and improperly stored and cooked food can lead to parasitic infections. Parasites like tapeworms, protozoa, flukes, and nematodes can infect humans, causing serious health issues. These parasites enter through various parts of the body, and then live and reproduce in certain organs. Though there are many points of entry into the human body, most parasites enter