One of most complicated lifecycles: Extreme parasite controlling the ants brain

[djhardensterik]

fodasse..

[kutkinderen]

Wtf is this for sci-fy?

[blazorxdeltav]

@kutkinderen Nope.

[marth1800]

CAPTIAN HIGGINS!!!!

[MineetheUmbreon]

Damn nature you scary!

[anikinippon]

WOW!

[carnage1342]

The circle of liffffffffffffffffffffffffffff­ffffffe!

[Gyorkland]

makes you wonder how the fuck the parasite knows exactly what to do.

[sexyloser]

@Gyorkland Trial and error. The parasites that didn't do the right thing aren't around anymore.

[Bionicneobeak]

it goes from crap to snot that is complicated

[roflolmfaomgg]

I should stop eating ants.

[MrMikeom5241]

is the media and hollywoood similar to this parasite and takes over our minds and makes us do and buy stuff we dont really need or want?

[cian467]

da fuck 

[Emzyftwx3]

i feel itchy all over

[LoniganTheDragon]

someone once said that nature was scary. scary, is an understatement. 

[cornnellify]

my mind was just molested

[darkninjagz1]

Lol

[sdingle100]

I need to watch this once i am baked

[monsterlover111]

Well that stops the dares for eating grass :/

[aaronpitagn]

@ TheKmwc666 interesting theory nice

[Gopherunner]

What I want to know is how it started was the ant first?

[danasaur4]

MAN some people are just SOOO picky!

[alliekay17]

That. Is. ...AWESOME XD



[rolingpingu]

Wow, that was definetly the most purposeless life even O.o

[zackary1616]

rowdents



[mitsubishidiamante]

fuck his doomed

[AllenMac15]

@Bellringer1 Old comment I know but,

This video is just a clip from one of the most motha fuckin scientific kickass series ever, MOST EXTREME

Check it.

Also, how the hell did scientists find this out.

[Krafterr4]

@AllenMac15 Scientists have a lot of spare time.

[AllenMac15]

@Krafterr4 Hhaaha nice

[willmprise]

@Krafterr4 most of this come from ONE scientist who studied ants since he was twelve. He couldn't figure out why the ants would dangle in a vulnerable position, then he realized they were around the snails, then he realized the snails were around the feces of animals and he pieced it all together. ONE GUY...twenty years.

[Krafterr4]

@willmprise Hmm... then couldn't we have done that with 20 guys in one year?

[willmprise]

@Krafterr4 He's from a university in pennsylvania. I don't remember his name. Google zombie ant brain discovery and then look him up and email him. Professors always have open emails for students.

[m33lad]

@Krafterr4 seems more like interesting. + you're watching it aren't u? So u must be a loser low life with no life to watching videos!!

Thats the issue these days, as soon as you do something outside of what we call normal work like a dog go out & etc.. YOU Automatically assumed to have too much time on ur hands!

[dominiccss]

Explain how this parasite evolved to live the life cycle it does.

[nickr753]

@dominiccss Use your imagination, dude. The way it controls host behavior isn't magic--it's not the only parasite that controls host behavior, either. Obviously this particular life cycle is rather complex, but just take a look around and you'll see a line of related species, decreasing in complexity back to the common ancestor. Compared to evolution, "God did it" just looks like a namby pamby cop-out answer, anyway.

[dominiccss]

@nickr753 One day you will see.

[nickr753]

@dominiccss Too late. I had faith once; then I opened my eyes. Now I don't need it.

[krscanin1]

wow.... unbelieveable

[feedtherich]

This is so ungodly weird.

[MonSwon]

wow that is well mental.

[asnanior]

@Bellringer1 @Kigaru111 The scientific name of this parasite is Dicrocoelium dendriticum.

[edstella]

@Bellringer1 It's named at 1:36.

[Kigaru111]

....Do they even have a name for it? -.-

[TheKmwc666]

like hell that happened in evoloution

[DisengageMusic]

@TheKmwc666 Actually, when you consider it there is a lot of evolution to be seen in this video. If the parasites DNA was altered so that it was unable to complete one of these 'phases', it would never make it around the cycle and reproduce. Thus this defective parasite species would never survive. However the parasites with the 'advantageous' characteristics do survive to pass on their genes to the next generation, hence why these complicated systems emerge over time.

Cool video also!

[hydrobot2003]

@DisengageMusic - evolution is progression, this parasit is not progressing it is repeating. No evolution here Monkey!

[DisengageMusic]

@hydrobot2003 (1/2) You should remember that evolution takes place over many many generations, and it can take many thousands of years for the small changes to manifest themselves visibly. You could think of this as being analogous to ageing, the effect is only observable when viewed in fast forward otherwise it is too slow for us to notice. Though the lifecycle of this parasite is indeed repeating (as do human life cycles), these changes occur as small genetic mutations during reproduction...

[DisengageMusic]

@hydrobot2003 (2/2) ...which in this case appears to happen in the rabbit. Many of the eggs that are laid may be identical (if the parasite reproduces asexually), but that still leaves room for random mutations in the code of it's DNA. Though they are rare, they allow for small developments in the genetic make up of the organisms children, which may be beneficial or otherwise. The most successful organisms are given the best chance of reproducing themselves, and this gives rise to evolution.