TED Talksのインスタグラム(ted) - 11月1日 03時51分

Mind-controlling parasites roam the world — and they could be influencing your behavior right now. Take this emerald cockroach wasp (the little guy popping out on the right side of the photo). This parasitic wasp can only reproduce with the help of a roach. Here’s how: when it has some fertilized eggs, the wasp stabs the roach with its stinger and injects venom into the bug’s brain. But the venom doesn’t kill it — it simply turns off the roach’s motivation to walk. This allows the wasp to drag her helpless victim into her lair and lay an egg on it. Then, when the egg hatches, it devours the roach alive from the inside out. This type of wasp is one of many parasites that can manipulate the will of its hosts. Some even affect mammals, which leads us to wonder… are humans susceptible to parasitic manipulation, too? The evidence is inconclusive, but science writer Ed Yong doesn’t think it’s implausible. “Parasites are constantly inviting us to look at the natural world sideways, and to ask if the behaviors we're seeing are not the results of individuals acting through their own accord, but because they are being bent to the control of something else,” says Ed. To watch his creepy #TEDTalk, visit go.ted.com/mindcontrol.
Happy Halloween!
Photo courtesy of Ram Gal

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