I thought to myself "I have spent the entire day watching The Brain Scoop, Deep Look, and then reading science books and then some more videos, ... I think I might be done for toda- NEW BRAIN SCOOP VID"
I wonder about the assertion that parasite-infested water buffaloes provide more food for scavengers and predators...the infested animal may die sooner, but lacking the parasites, it would still die and still provide food for other animals. Every animal will die once.
Fascinating topic! I started out thinking "parasites don't seem worth preserving", and had to ask myself "Isn't the POINT of museum collections that WE DON'T KNOW what is and isn't worth preserving!?" Awesome video. Thanks guys ^_^
the thought of parasites makes my skin crawl, my stomach turn over and my brain go "NONONONONONONONONO", but I still found this video fascinating! thanks Emily :)
We're going to need to collect two of each type, each collected from a separate area via helicopter extraction... That's right, a pair of parasites from a pair of para-sites. I'll see myself out now.
I never thought about the conservation value of parasites before. You made a good point in that studying parasites could help us learn more about all sorts of diseases. Thank you! :)
It's interesting how we see parasites as inherently negative because they might harm their host, but we don't have the same problem with predators, even though they definitely also harm other animals.
Yes interesting, isn't it? Parasites live off of other animals but they generally do so without killing them, which means walking a fine line and constantly putting up with the host's defenses. But the animals we choose for our heraldry are the ones that go the easy route by just killing their prey.
We don't have the same problem with predators, because predators don't seem to us as vestigial, while parasites do. Parasites come across like an evolutionary and ecological dead-end. Something that draws out of the system while not meaningfully contributing back. I'm of the opinion that most parasites need to be treated much like diseases are when it comes to extinction. As an achievement. But there are undoubtedly parasites which have an important role in their eco system, so I'm not for wiping them parasites out unilaterally either.
I felt great care was taken in the video to exclude human parasites from any protection efforts. There might be some that are useful to treat allergies but most of them are gruesome and take a heavy toll on poorer populations. Nobody argues to keep those parasites around or if they are, they should start conservation efforts with themselves. As for animal and plant parasites, it is not clear to me how they are inherently less important to ecosystems than predators are. In fact I would argue that diseases also are likely to play important roles in stabilizing ecosystems. So eradicating animal diseases or parasites should only be done when it is necessary to preserve the species itself.
Great video, but I noticed one small mistake. The worm coming out of the grasshopper that is fed upon buy the Japanese trout is not a nematode. That is a different kind of roundworm called a horsehair worm or nematomorph worm. It’s a separate but related phylum to nematodes. Other then that, you brought up a lot of really intriguing ideas in this video. Keep up the fantastic work!
Madame Corgi I meant to say “round-worm” as they are cylindrical as opposed to the flat Turbellarians or the irregular Trematodes in the Platyhelminthes clade. Nematomorphs are in the same parent clade as nematodes: Cycloneuralia a sub clade of the Ecdysozoans. But this is the closest relationship they have to each other, phylogenetically speaking.
Closest thing to parasite fan club is "monsters inside me" on Animal Planet. My favorite show. Every time someone comes in the room though they always say, "OMG what are you watching?!"
It would be cool if we increased the research and preservation of parasites and gain insight on how we can better protect ourselves from the annoying ones, such as lice and bed bugs. ESPECIALLY BED BUGS!
I've just ended an adveture with Emilie Graslie that I had started two weeks ago. In this time i've watched EVERY video clip in order. It was a pleasure to skin wolf with you, move on to the Field museum and meet many amazing scientists that inspire many young people just like myself. I'm so happy that you're doing an amazing job!
Growing up in Brazil, under the age of 9, I remember my biology textbook had a section talking about parasites and diseases that you get from poor hygiene or just living in a, you know, tropical country. And I remember always turning back to that section to read more about it, especially the fact that this is a child’s textbook talking about parasitic worms inside our bodies. I never though much of that thing, but since I watched you other video about worms, I’ve remembered about parasitic worms and a fascination to them.
The parasitology classes were the most fascinating classes in my lab training. Then, after school, seeing some of them in the lab was just as fascinating.
Excellent worm earrings! Also, everyone needs to understand that parasitism is a basic ecological niche. That niche just happens to exist in and around other organisms.
Emily, you are an absolute gem. Thanks for sharing all of the tremendous insights, facts, fun, and bringing us the interesting interviews with so many specialists in their fields. This channel is superb, and I would also like to extend my compliments to all of the other people behind the scenes. The camera crew, researchers, everyone.
This is timely, I recently finished reading Carl Zimmer's "Parasite Rex". I've always had a fascination with parasites and use them frequently as symbols in my artwork; reading that book made me even more fascinated by how diverse and complicated parasites actually are!
Good report, thanks. If you’ve got bad Skype sound use a phone on the interviewee’s desk for a memo recording backup file. “Bad sound makes good video look bad.“
In an interesting case of the relationship between host and parasite, I remember watching a documentary that included a doctor that had contracted a sheep parasite. The parasite was unable to live in the human gut so migrated to the next best thing... the doctor's brain (the worm was removed without leaving any permanent damage)
This is such a great topic and great video. I had never thought about this and even though I feel like scratching my body all over since I've watched, I feel like I learned something new, and I am now also convinced they should be considered in all our conservation efforts. Many many thanks for your work!!!
There is a parasite museum in Japan I believe, which has a fascinating amount of gross and shuddersome specimens for those less squeamish. I'm not sure how in depth the research gets there, but it's worth checking out if your reasearching them
I think its also worth noting that there could be potential medical benefits to parasites, in like using leaches to create anticoagulants, or identifying enzymes that might be able to suppress unwanted immune responses, or, yes, weight control and digestive health. Culinary uses as well, like the way we use vanilla from orchids, or simply eating them, in the way we use some corn fungi or things like lamprays.
According to the 'Hydinge hypothesis', the increased prevenlence of diseases asssocaited with hyperimmmunit in the West result from a lack of exposure to (macro?) parasties.
Hey Emily you should do an episode about the study/concept of One Health. You touch on a lot of parts of it in your videos. I'm currently taking a course on it and we focus a lot on emerging diseases, I believe later we will talk about parasites.
Your mentioning of the lack of amateur parasite groups makes me wonder how difficult it would be to set one up in some way. I've always been intrigued by "the creatures that make people squirm" parasites being a part of that, and it would be something I'd love to get into, but as someone who works full time, I'm not sure if it would be something I would have the time to put into...
Something that I find unbelievable (and it goes to show our "progress" as humans) is that unique and amazing species, which can even be parasites as this video taught us, are rare and on the brink of extinction, almost always because of us, whereas species that cause extensive damage to ecosystems or human infrastructure are widespread and rampant all over the place.
And (on the subject now) it's probably one of the hardest things maybe, getting people involved in saving creatures like Parasites. They aren't Orchids, so maybe the way is associating them to things like Alien or the Demogorgon. Might seems like a stretch (the argument) but I guess it could make people interested...
I have a couple of parasite specimens from working at the vet, including tapeworms, roundworms and maggots. I should start a local parasite fan club. 😂😂
This one of those: on one hand..on the other hand. I get it, they’re part of the whole Earth’s biology. And yet trying talking with people who have been infested with Guinea worm.
I tried pretty hard to emphasize and make the focus of this video on wildlife parasites for that reason. There is disproportionately a far greater number of wildlife parasites than those that infect humans -- we know more about those human/disease-causing parasites because, understandably, more research goes towards seeking causes and treatments.
I love this video. To be honest, I find parasites a bit creepy, but also deeply fascinating. They have a lot of really cool adaptations and strategies for survival. It is a good thing people realise that animals that aren`t cute and fluffy also have a value. Hooray for life.
I remember a few years ago there was a rumour pubic lice were becoming endangered because of modern grooming/beauty standards. Is there any truth to that?
Rach not as I understand it, they are actually resistant to a lot of common treatments because we use the same chemicals to kill them all the time so they evolved, though there are current new shampoos that they’re not resistant to
I wonder what her opinion is on human parasites and the efforts to eliminate NTDs? I dont know how I would feel about that. If im ok with an animal suffering from a parasite for the sake of biodiversity isnt it hypocritical to say humans shouldnt suffer the same way? But i AM way more upset to see a human suffer from debilitating diseases and for the irradication of NTDs. And unless you want to volunteer yourself and your parents/kids to be the designated carrier for lympathic filariasis I dont think I have the right to make someone else suffer from it. Nor do I think its okay yo make a dog or moose suffer for the same reason. Its a morally complicated question. But one im glad they started a discussion about
Hey Emily! I'd love to see a video about the Tsavo "man eating" lions, nicknamed "The Ghost" and "The Darkness". I just recently found that they were preserved and displayed at the Field Museum!
This was interesting and thought provoking but show more gross stuff! I would have liked to see some of what the Field Museum has in it's small collection.
If my memory is correct the book Cabinet of Natural Curiosities (Albertus Seba) describes a collection of tapeworms from the wealthy families of the local area. BTW the book is a great read. Luckily the book failed to describe the collection technique.
Wh... What happened to the music?? I've actually wondered this myself about parasites. I've heard rallying cries for the intentional forced extinction of the common mosquito in some circles lately, and, though many say that surprisingly, it won't have that much of an ecological impact (not holding my breath there), I think the point of conservation isn't just for the purpose of keeping a stable ecosystem, but also the data and lessons we can learn from them. That being said... What happened to the music?? Is this an Emily choice, or a Field Museum choice? It feels sorta NatGeo... Which is great and all... Maybe it's just me... At least it still has brains on it.
Great. With research suggesting hookworms actually decrease astma abd allergy symptoms, parasites need to be looked at from another angle. In fact, i'ld love to try those hookworms!
Well, phages of parasitic bacteria could be considered that, true. I had thought more of the kinds of parasites that are considered in parasitic disease.
And in fact, a great example of that is parasitic wasps that have parasitic wasps: www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/01/inception-but-with-parasites/514211/
I had no idea about the louse that had formally been found only on California Condors (boom! Mind blown) now being extinct! Humans need to acknowledge and accept how very little we know. Witness reintroduction of wolves to Yosemite restoring the land and ecosystem. Our slowly growing understanding that protecting amphibians in an ecosystem can increase the health of the entire system or conversely protecting the top predator can also increase the health of the entire ecosystem. Organisms at all levels of an ecosystem need study. I get it though, in trying to help practice has very traditionally been upon intake of rescued animals (both domesticated pets and wildlife) to immediately eliminate parasites. Even vets evaluating an animal that comes in, for example, with a wound covered in maggots get the chills and first priority is clearing the maggots before debriding the wound or beginning antibiotics. And I (though shuddering at the sight) am thinking “But if you get the animal on antibiotics to kill the infection aren’t the maggots already debriding the wound? And once clear wouldn’t those maggots drop off?”
Question: Is our (our being human's) gut microbiome a parasite? I ask because according to the Dictionary.com definition, a parasite is, "an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment." To me that sounds like almost any living creatures internal microbiome. I know I put a limit of human microbiome as a limit, but consider the human aspect as an upper limit if you have to ask questions. I appreciate any feedback! Love the videos! Marshall
Marshall Emmett AFAIK our microbiome is mostly mutual, ie we both benefit, or commensal, ie we just live together, but there are some parasitic phages too.
I would not say that is a particularly good definition of a parasite. The relationship is mutualistic. The host benefits because the bacteria can digest macromolecules we can't, and we can then absorb the components of that molecule.
I thought to myself "I have spent the entire day watching The Brain Scoop, Deep Look, and then reading science books and then some more videos, ... I think I might be done for toda- NEW BRAIN SCOOP VID"
Kha Ngo , me and you the same
Deep look and brain scoop are some of the best science channels around!!
Omg Kha!!! I also love this channel! I was so surprised to see your name lol- hope you're doing well!
Sam Harley I think you remember the wrong Kha :p
Where did we meet? Anyway, take care!
Kha Ngo omg nvm then I know another Kha Ngo from high school! Thats funny though. Sorry!
This episode could have used a gross-o-meter. That worm coming out of the fur at the beginning grossed me out so hard, I almost gagged.
+
I scrolled down immediately to avoid this exact situation tbh (still listened to the narration though)
It's safe after the intro.
Penny Lane Thanks ♡
Wait, you guys don't get zits like that? Maybe it's just me.
+
Yeah, some of those images were quite disturbing. The cow at 7:11 made me uncomfortable.
Your argument is sound but viscerally upsetting and now I have complicated feelings. Thanks, I guess?
you're welcome
I wonder about the assertion that parasite-infested water buffaloes provide more food for scavengers and predators...the infested animal may die sooner, but lacking the parasites, it would still die and still provide food for other animals. Every animal will die once.
Fascinating topic! I started out thinking "parasites don't seem worth preserving", and had to ask myself "Isn't the POINT of museum collections that WE DON'T KNOW what is and isn't worth preserving!?"
Awesome video. Thanks guys ^_^
the thought of parasites makes my skin crawl, my stomach turn over and my brain go "NONONONONONONONONO", but I still found this video fascinating! thanks Emily :)
I study biology and parasites are someone of the coolest things to learn about, they've evolved to be SO SPECIFIC and just plain COOL!
Being as specific as good grammar means that one tiny mistake and the whole parasite, (or comment) is toast ;-)
We're going to need to collect two of each type, each collected from a separate area via helicopter extraction...
That's right, a pair of parasites from a pair of para-sites.
I'll see myself out now.
Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
That was marvelous.
"Rescue my children" i guess?
I never thought about the conservation value of parasites before. You made a good point in that studying parasites could help us learn more about all sorts of diseases.
Thank you! :)
It's interesting how we see parasites as inherently negative because they might harm their host, but we don't have the same problem with predators, even though they definitely also harm other animals.
Yes interesting, isn't it? Parasites live off of other animals but they generally do so without killing them, which means walking a fine line and constantly putting up with the host's defenses. But the animals we choose for our heraldry are the ones that go the easy route by just killing their prey.
Truth.
Such an interesting perspective!
We don't have the same problem with predators, because predators don't seem to us as vestigial, while parasites do. Parasites come across like an evolutionary and ecological dead-end. Something that draws out of the system while not meaningfully contributing back.
I'm of the opinion that most parasites need to be treated much like diseases are when it comes to extinction. As an achievement. But there are undoubtedly parasites which have an important role in their eco system, so I'm not for wiping them parasites out unilaterally either.
I felt great care was taken in the video to exclude human parasites from any protection efforts. There might be some that are useful to treat allergies but most of them are gruesome and take a heavy toll on poorer populations. Nobody argues to keep those parasites around or if they are, they should start conservation efforts with themselves.
As for animal and plant parasites, it is not clear to me how they are inherently less important to ecosystems than predators are. In fact I would argue that diseases also are likely to play important roles in stabilizing ecosystems. So eradicating animal diseases or parasites should only be done when it is necessary to preserve the species itself.
Cheers for the Sailor Moon figure on your desk!
[Parasites] carry the message of love. 🌙
Great video, but I noticed one small mistake. The worm coming out of the grasshopper that is fed upon buy the Japanese trout is not a nematode. That is a different kind of roundworm called a horsehair worm or nematomorph worm. It’s a separate but related phylum to nematodes. Other then that, you brought up a lot of really intriguing ideas in this video. Keep up the fantastic work!
why the hell do you know stuff like this...
Well, roundworms and nematodes form the phylum Nematoda, so Gondian worms are not Roundworms.
Madame Corgi I meant to say “round-worm” as they are cylindrical as opposed to the flat Turbellarians or the irregular Trematodes in the Platyhelminthes clade. Nematomorphs are in the same parent clade as nematodes: Cycloneuralia a sub clade of the Ecdysozoans. But this is the closest relationship they have to each other, phylogenetically speaking.
You guys know your worms!!! YAY!
Yay nerds! ^_^
One bad parasite are ticks. If you want to get rid of ticks, your best bet is to use something tock-sick.
I always have *time* for a good pun.
I like finding them and torturing them.
:^)
Closest thing to parasite fan club is "monsters inside me" on Animal Planet. My favorite show. Every time someone comes in the room though they always say, "OMG what are you watching?!"
Not gonna lie, I did watch a number of those episodes as, ahem, "research."
Yes! I was waiting for someone to mention this show, I love it!
It would be cool if we increased the research and preservation of parasites and gain insight on how we can better protect ourselves from the annoying ones, such as lice and bed bugs. ESPECIALLY BED BUGS!
Well.. I guess that leftover spaghetti can wait 'till tomorrow...
That's your take-away from this video?
No.. the spaghetti's home made...
I ate mine, seemed slimy for some odd reason.
But your tape worms are hungry now!
My uncle refuses to eat spaghetti because someone put a worm in his spaghetti when he was a student.
You should go to the Meguro Parasitological Museum in Tokyo, Japan.
I've just ended an adveture with Emilie Graslie that I had started two weeks ago. In this time i've watched EVERY video clip in order. It was a pleasure to skin wolf with you, move on to the Field museum and meet many amazing scientists that inspire many young people just like myself. I'm so happy that you're doing an amazing job!
Is that a tiny pangolin figure I spot on your desk? If so, that's fantastic.
interesting but this is the stuff of my childhood nightmares
Brb starting a tape worm fan club in my town.
A man in the faroe islands got an honorary doctorate for his flea and louse collection, mostly from birds.
Growing up in Brazil, under the age of 9, I remember my biology textbook had a section talking about parasites and diseases that you get from poor hygiene or just living in a, you know, tropical country. And I remember always turning back to that section to read more about it, especially the fact that this is a child’s textbook talking about parasitic worms inside our bodies. I never though much of that thing, but since I watched you other video about worms, I’ve remembered about parasitic worms and a fascination to them.
The parasitology classes were the most fascinating classes in my lab training. Then, after school, seeing some of them in the lab was just as fascinating.
Excellent worm earrings! Also, everyone needs to understand that parasitism is a basic ecological niche. That niche just happens to exist in and around other organisms.
Emily, you are an absolute gem. Thanks for sharing all of the tremendous insights, facts, fun, and bringing us the interesting interviews with so many specialists in their fields. This channel is superb, and I would also like to extend my compliments to all of the other people behind the scenes. The camera crew, researchers, everyone.
My (predictable) reaction to the header was “Ewww, yuck”, but then I clicked on the video, and it’s actually quite interesting. Well done!
I love this show so much Emily, but JEEZ that shot of a cow worm parasite will give me night/daymares for the rest of the week
If that grossed you out, whatever you do don't look up "mango worms." it's literally a hundred times worse.
I thought it was super satisfying to watch. Like popping a pimple
Curiosity is a double edged sword. I googled "mango worms", and i can't unsee that horror... _Sigh_ Well, i guess i was warned :P
This is timely, I recently finished reading Carl Zimmer's "Parasite Rex". I've always had a fascination with parasites and use them frequently as symbols in my artwork; reading that book made me even more fascinated by how diverse and complicated parasites actually are!
I loved how disappointed she was there weren't any tapeworm fan clubs near her!
my gf saw your earrings at 1:18 and she wont stop talking about them. thank you so much for the gift idea!!!!!
"Humans shouldnt pass judgment on other species " cutest thing I've heard all day
One of your best videos yet! Way to make something totally gross really fascinating and positive!
Good report, thanks. If you’ve got bad Skype sound use a phone on the interviewee’s desk for a memo recording backup file. “Bad sound makes good video look bad.“
In an interesting case of the relationship between host and parasite, I remember watching a documentary that included a doctor that had contracted a sheep parasite. The parasite was unable to live in the human gut so migrated to the next best thing... the doctor's brain (the worm was removed without leaving any permanent damage)
This is such a great topic and great video. I had never thought about this and even though I feel like scratching my body all over since I've watched, I feel like I learned something new, and I am now also convinced they should be considered in all our conservation efforts. Many many thanks for your work!!!
I love that more "investigative" storytelling.
lougrims Do you mean the music? It's always felt 'investigative' to me.
If there had been some kind of parasite fanclub when I was in school, I'd have joined it in a heartbeat.
Best video in a long time. Not that other videos have been bad, this was just excellent!
"I want to see some parasitic worms!"
Yep. First person to say that ever right there.
Fascinating video! Also you have the book of frogs on your desk but there are so few videos about amphibians on the brainscoop. Any planned?
6:43-6:51 Best...Acting...Ever! Haha, great stuff as always. Thank you Scoopers. :)
I highly recommend reading Parasite Rex, the author does a great job of explaining how parasites play a huge part in the food chain
There is a parasite museum in Japan I believe, which has a fascinating amount of gross and shuddersome specimens for those less squeamish. I'm not sure how in depth the research gets there, but it's worth checking out if your reasearching them
Just discovered you from Dustin's channel. Instant subscribe. You're awesome Emily.
Given that this is the brain scoop, I want to see some sort of parasitic worm burrowing through someone's head.
Check out the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Madison WI...they have an awesome parasite collection!
I think its also worth noting that there could be potential medical benefits to parasites, in like using leaches to create anticoagulants, or identifying enzymes that might be able to suppress unwanted immune responses, or, yes, weight control and digestive health. Culinary uses as well, like the way we use vanilla from orchids, or simply eating them, in the way we use some corn fungi or things like lamprays.
According to the 'Hydinge hypothesis', the increased prevenlence of diseases asssocaited with hyperimmmunit in the West result from a lack of exposure to (macro?) parasties.
Yessssssssss I love exploring the positive aspects of things that are usually considered bad or harmful!! So interesting!
Hey Emily you should do an episode about the study/concept of One Health. You touch on a lot of parts of it in your videos. I'm currently taking a course on it and we focus a lot on emerging diseases, I believe later we will talk about parasites.
Your mentioning of the lack of amateur parasite groups makes me wonder how difficult it would be to set one up in some way.
I've always been intrigued by "the creatures that make people squirm" parasites being a part of that, and it would be something I'd love to get into, but as someone who works full time, I'm not sure if it would be something I would have the time to put into...
Something that I find unbelievable (and it goes to show our "progress" as humans) is that unique and amazing species, which can even be parasites as this video taught us, are rare and on the brink of extinction, almost always because of us, whereas species that cause extensive damage to ecosystems or human infrastructure are widespread and rampant all over the place.
just came here from smarter every day. you have some cool content. +1 sub
Im so glad I ate BEFORE the video...
But for real, so informative. makes you think about things much more differently.
Finally!
I have waited for this episodes for years! Thank you
I have never thought about it this way!! Parasites can be so important!
And (on the subject now) it's probably one of the hardest things maybe, getting people involved in saving creatures like Parasites. They aren't Orchids, so maybe the way is associating them to things like Alien or the Demogorgon. Might seems like a stretch (the argument) but I guess it could make people interested...
Anyone else find it a bit ironic that the biggest collection of parasite specimens is in WA DC?
When you got on the phone and said "Hi Anna!" I got really excited that you were gonna bring Anna Goldman back onto the show. :-(
There’s a great podcast on parasites by the BBC called In Our Time that gives great insight from experts to supplement this video!
Okay, I guess I don't want the parasites to go bye-bye. Great show as always.
I have a couple of parasite specimens from working at the vet, including tapeworms, roundworms and maggots. I should start a local parasite fan club. 😂😂
I highly recommend Carl Zimmer's book, "Parasite Rex"--It's a great read!
This one of those: on one hand..on the other hand. I get it, they’re part of the whole Earth’s biology. And yet trying talking with people who have been infested with Guinea worm.
I tried pretty hard to emphasize and make the focus of this video on wildlife parasites for that reason. There is disproportionately a far greater number of wildlife parasites than those that infect humans -- we know more about those human/disease-causing parasites because, understandably, more research goes towards seeking causes and treatments.
I love this video. To be honest, I find parasites a bit creepy, but also deeply fascinating. They have a lot of really cool adaptations and strategies for survival. It is a good thing people realise that animals that aren`t cute and fluffy also have a value. Hooray for life.
"tapeworm fan clubs near me" that killed me!!! bahaha!
Absolutely love your videos, love them even more now that I know you are a fellow moonie
A man creates. A parasite asks, "where's my share?"
This is now exactly what I want to do for my masters project!! Now to link parasite conservation to One Health...
I remember a few years ago there was a rumour pubic lice were becoming endangered because of modern grooming/beauty standards. Is there any truth to that?
Rach not as I understand it, they are actually resistant to a lot of common treatments because we use the same chemicals to kill them all the time so they evolved, though there are current new shampoos that they’re not resistant to
And I am the only one who gets geeked for parasites and even a dreams of becoming a amateur parasitologists.
I wonder what her opinion is on human parasites and the efforts to eliminate NTDs? I dont know how I would feel about that. If im ok with an animal suffering from a parasite for the sake of biodiversity isnt it hypocritical to say humans shouldnt suffer the same way? But i AM way more upset to see a human suffer from debilitating diseases and for the irradication of NTDs. And unless you want to volunteer yourself and your parents/kids to be the designated carrier for lympathic filariasis I dont think I have the right to make someone else suffer from it. Nor do I think its okay yo make a dog or moose suffer for the same reason. Its a morally complicated question. But one im glad they started a discussion about
Check out Anand Varma's(from Nat Geo) talk on parasites
Hey Emily! I'd love to see a video about the Tsavo "man eating" lions, nicknamed "The Ghost" and "The Darkness". I just recently found that they were preserved and displayed at the Field Museum!
The big book of frogs by Tim Holliday.... I love that book (Its the one Emily is using for her monitor)
The “Check our sources” link in the description >> yaaaay, footnotes!
It took me a few days to work up the courage to click on this video.
This was interesting and thought provoking but show more gross stuff! I would have liked to see some of what the Field Museum has in it's small collection.
Field & NMNH working together, even a little bit?!?! :D :D
there has not been brains on it for a while now! I miss the specimen prep videos!
If my memory is correct the book Cabinet of Natural Curiosities (Albertus Seba) describes a collection of tapeworms from the wealthy families of the local area. BTW the book is a great read. Luckily the book failed to describe the collection technique.
yes Emily! I was thinking yoi were due to post a video. Love all your content, yoi are someone I hope my daughters look up to!
okay now for the video!
There has to be so many medical insights possible
6:43 this had me laughing! :D you are too funny Emily!
I'll be honest. It was hard to watch this. I admire the people who have a stronger stomachs to research this kind of stuff.
Wh... What happened to the music??
I've actually wondered this myself about parasites. I've heard rallying cries for the intentional forced extinction of the common mosquito in some circles lately, and, though many say that surprisingly, it won't have that much of an ecological impact (not holding my breath there), I think the point of conservation isn't just for the purpose of keeping a stable ecosystem, but also the data and lessons we can learn from them.
That being said... What happened to the music?? Is this an Emily choice, or a Field Museum choice? It feels sorta NatGeo... Which is great and all... Maybe it's just me...
At least it still has brains on it.
No results found for "tapeworm fanclubs near me". Darn i guess its true
Great. With research suggesting hookworms actually decrease astma abd allergy symptoms, parasites need to be looked at from another angle. In fact, i'ld love to try those hookworms!
I'm going to go ignite a tapeworm and you can't stop me.
Hey BrainScoop, there's a pretty incredible parasite museum in Tokyo, Japan if you're ever in the neighborhood! :)
I feel like you'd be REALLY good at Owen Wilson impressions
I feel properly scarred with knowledge about parasites just in time for Halloween. But the coevolution was cool. Coevolution is always cool.
Can parasites get parasites BTW?
Well, phages of parasitic bacteria could be considered that, true. I had thought more of the kinds of parasites that are considered in parasitic disease.
Humans get pregnant, so yes.
Yup, thats called hiperparasitism
And in fact, a great example of that is parasitic wasps that have parasitic wasps: www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/01/inception-but-with-parasites/514211/
I believe so
love it. continue the good work!
It's a spoooooooky Halloween parasite episode.
this is an EXCEPTIONAL video Emily! I'm likin' what I'm seein'
I'm fascinated by how some parasites alter/influence the host's behavior.
I had no idea about the louse that had formally been found only on California Condors (boom! Mind blown) now being extinct!
Humans need to acknowledge and accept how very little we know. Witness reintroduction of wolves to Yosemite restoring the land and ecosystem. Our slowly growing understanding that protecting amphibians in an ecosystem can increase the health of the entire system or conversely protecting the top predator can also increase the health of the entire ecosystem. Organisms at all levels of an ecosystem need study.
I get it though, in trying to help practice has very traditionally been upon intake of rescued animals (both domesticated pets and wildlife) to immediately eliminate parasites.
Even vets evaluating an animal that comes in, for example, with a wound covered in maggots get the chills and first priority is clearing the maggots before debriding the wound or beginning antibiotics. And I (though shuddering at the sight) am thinking “But if you get the animal on antibiotics to kill the infection aren’t the maggots already debriding the wound? And once clear wouldn’t those maggots drop off?”
Question: Is our (our being human's) gut microbiome a parasite?
I ask because according to the Dictionary.com definition, a parasite is, "an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment."
To me that sounds like almost any living creatures internal microbiome. I know I put a limit of human microbiome as a limit, but consider the human aspect as an upper limit if you have to ask questions.
I appreciate any feedback!
Love the videos!
Marshall
Marshall Emmett AFAIK our microbiome is mostly mutual, ie we both benefit, or commensal, ie we just live together, but there are some parasitic phages too.
I would not say that is a particularly good definition of a parasite. The relationship is mutualistic. The host benefits because the bacteria can digest macromolecules we can't, and we can then absorb the components of that molecule.
Still more excellent by work Emily and the team!
"...tapeworm fanclubs near me..." lol.