Science!: Fanged Frogs, Botflies and Tequila

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside again...

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Awesome. I love this new column. Keep them coming!

The link in the text for the Ghostshark isn't working, just so you know.

Just the mention of the botfly has me scratching my head and shivering in terror.

Oh man... I watched that video on the botfly larvae... I couldn't make it and I have a very strong stomach.

I'm officially never leaving my house ever again.

Hah, and people thought Dead Rising was just a game.. now we see it for what it truly is.. prophecy!

All hail our new phorid overlords.

Kwil:
Hah, and people thought Dead Rising was just a game.. now we see it for what it truly is.. prophecy!

All hail our new phorid overlords.

You amuse me.

I too enjoy this new column, keep up the good work.

popdafoo:
Oh man... I watched that video on the botfly larvae... I couldn't make it and I have a very strong stomach.

Mmyeah, I think you've convinced me to go ahead and not click that link myself.

It's a pity there's so many species disappearing before we even know about them. Who knows what we could have learned from all the creatures that we've blindly destroyed, or that have been lost to pure chance?

I don't know what this is doing on a gaming website, but I'm not complaining. Interesting stuff, keep it comin'.

popdafoo:
Oh man... I watched that video on the botfly larvae... I couldn't make it and I have a very strong stomach.

I'm officially never leaving my house ever again.

pfff, I re-watched it, saved the video, and spliced the benny hill music to it.

not that gross.

Oh my god that botfly video was so awesome! Awesome yet nauseating....wait, yeah there's the horrific nausea setting in. I mean just wow, disgusting, but so awesome at the same time. Perhaps I missed my calling for the medical field when I went into computer science that stuff seems so much cooler.

great column, it saves me the time to watch any TV :)

Several years ago, in Zoology class, I learned of a fascinating parasite that uses ants, as well as snails and cows, in its life cycle. The Lancet Liver Fluke starts off as eggs in the feces of cows, which are in turn ingested by snails. The snails, in an attempt to ward off the infecting larvae, create cysts to capture the buggers and secretes them in their slime trail. The ants, ingest the slime, and infect themselves with the larvae.

Here's where the groovy part comes in. While dozens of larvae are continuing to develop, one takes control of the ant and in the evening, forces the ant to climb a blade of grass and wait until dawn or until it is ingested by another cow. If the ant is not ingested by morning, it lets the ant continue with its normal activity, as if nothing happened, until the next night. Awesome stuff!

Thanks for reminding me of this little tidbit, Lauren. I'm really enjoying your article.

Wow, that video was pretty cool =) It wasn't even really so gross, except for the blurt of pussy stuff that came out afterwards. I think my pathology courses have hardened me... =P I can understand how it must have really hurt getting the fat back part out, and then releasing the goo, but I wonder if she felt afterwards like someone had just squeezed the worst pimple ever and released all the pressure...sorry, kind of a gross speculation, but I'm curious.

Dude, this was a great article! It falls in a sweet spot between the comedic yet tiny Cracked.com nature articles and the informative yet dull National Geographic articles. I'll definitely be reading these articles regularly, you can be sure of that!

Also: Fanged Frogs? Spooky.
^{(Hmm... I wonder what they taste like...)}

I hope this column stays. I love science news (not that strange given my education)

I loved this weeks SCIENCE! I hope each week in October there are more Ghoulish and Spooky science facts added since we are coming up on Halloween and all.

Lauren, you have quickly become my favorite thing on the Escapist! Thank you for another awesome issue!

Wow, great column! This is the new highlight of the Escapist for me! Love it!

Having more confirmation that birds evolved from dinosaurs has given new insight to the hawk we saw eating a smaller bird on a branch outside of one of our weekly meetings this week. It was a dinosaur eating another dinosaur. Yes, it did stop the entire meeting for minutes.

If that didn't amaze you, a mockingbird... erm, mockingdinosaur, came up to the hawk WHILE IT WAS EATING and was harassing it (flying into it, squawking, flicking it's dino-tail).

I approve.

So, Lauren, are you this beautiful lady in the picture?

YES!! Kill those ant bastards! Die die die! I HATE Fire Ants. They will devour every damn thing around, and gods forbid you drop a crumb in a 50 mile radius of them. Though, it is amazing fun to watch a colony of black ants go to insect war against the red ants (and they say humans are the only ones who discriminate on color). If you've never seen it, I encourage you to find a way (but watch your ass, else you'll be eaten alive by those little bastards).

So, all praise our phorid saviours.

Kalezian:

pfff, I re-watched it, saved the video, and spliced the benny hill music to it.

not that gross.

You spliced Benny Hill...to that? ...Do you have a copy of it, that sounds freaking awesome!

Another great article Lauren! I now want a Ghost Shark... I don't know why, but their faces look like Squirrel faces to me. :P

Kuliani:
Having more confirmation that birds evolved from dinosaurs has given new insight to the hawk we saw eating a smaller bird on a branch outside of one of our weekly meetings this week. It was a dinosaur eating another dinosaur. Yes, it did stop the entire meeting for minutes.

If that didn't amaze you, a mockingbird... erm, mockingdinosaur, came up to the hawk WHILE IT WAS EATING and was harassing it (flying into it, squawking, flicking it's dino-tail).

I walked into the meeting room a little bit later and you better believe those two were in the middle of an intense showdown.

Ohhhhh, lovely part about the Botfly, I watched the Vid :D
hehehe. although it feels like I have a headache now...

Hurray for science!