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From parasites that pop ant's heads off, to making animal-computer-hybrid robots, here
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are 10 of the most fascinating cases of mind control in nature.
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10.)
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Euhaplorchis Californiensis The Euhaplorchis Californiensis is a parasite
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that is primarily found in southern California.
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These parasites live on the gut of shorebirds.
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Once the very tiny eggs of these parasites develop, they are released into the waters
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through the shorebirds' feces.
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These eggs will live and develop into larva if they are swallowed up by snails.
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Once the larvae reach a certain stage, they are able to escape the snails which is when
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they then find killifish.
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They continue to live in the brain of the killifish, where the parasites begin to control
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the killifish's activity.
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Once in the brain, the mind control begins.
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The parasites make the killifish swim to the surface of the ocean where they will swim
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in circles.
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This makes it easy for the shorebirds to see the killifish, catch them, and then eat them.
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Once the shorebirds have eaten an infected killifish, the cycle begins again!!
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9.)
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Acacia Trees Ants and acacia trees have had a relationship
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for generations.
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For the longest time, people just assumed this is how it was and no one really looked
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into the reasoning for this relationship.
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That was until some scientists discovered that the relationship is actually more one
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sided than what people have previously thought.
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On the outside, this relationship looks to be a win-win for both the ants and the trees.
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The acacia trees provide the ants with food and hollow thorns, which can be used as nests
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for the ants.
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In return, the ants protect the acacia trees from herbivores.
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Further research has shown that the ants also keep bacteria away from the leaves of the
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acacia trees, which helps keep the trees overall good health.
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However, continued research from scientists has shown that there is a bit of manipulation
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from the acacia trees to help keep this relationship strong.
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It turns out that the food the ants eat from the acacia trees actually contains a chemical
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which will change their brain chemicals and put the ant into a defensive mode; making
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them more likely to protect the acacia trees.
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8.)
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Phorid Flies Phorid flies are very tiny flies that love
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to take over ants.
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Over 20 species of Pseudacteon flies are known to take over fire ants in South America.
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As an adult they are about the size of an ant's head.
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The female fly attacks the ant to insert anywhere from 100 to 300 of its eggs into its thorax.
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Once the eggs hatch, the larvae move to the head of the ant, take over their minds and
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then pop off their head from the inside.
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This is why they are also called ant-decapitating flies.
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The larva keeps its host functioning and stays in the relative safety of the colony.
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Then when the maggot is ready, it makes the ant leave the colony and die in a humid, cool
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place.
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It releases a chemical that dissolves the ant's membranes, causing the ant's head
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to fall off.
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The larva then begins to pupate inside the head, and when it's ready, a new ant-decapitating
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fly crawls out of the ant's mouth.
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Spooky right??
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These flies are now being brought into the US to control the population of black and
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red fire ants that have started to invade and cause millions of dollars worth of damage
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to agriculture.
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So if you see a bunch of severed ants heads, you'll know why!!
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And now for number 7 but first be sure you are subscribed before you leave.
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We have lots of new videos coming up! 7.)
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The Alcon Blue Butterfly There is a beautiful parasitic butterfly which
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is known to fool ants.
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These butterflies are called the Alcon blue butterfly and before they turn into butterflies,
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they manipulate ants into taking care of them.
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They basically do this in the same way that the Toxoplasma Gondii parasite in mice fools
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cats.
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When the Alcon blue butterfly is still in the caterpillar stage, the caterpillar has
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a smell on its outer coat which attracts the ants to it.
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The ants actually “taste” this smell when their antenna touches the coat of the butterfly.
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This smell can actually make the ants believe that the caterpillar is one of their own larvae.
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The caterpillar is usually brought back to the ant colony where the ants are duped into
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feeding the caterpillars more than they feed their own- probably because they are larger
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and the ants think it is a super healthy larva of their own!
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The ants are now in an evolutionary race with this butterfly species as colonies that have
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been duped have been changing their chemical signature so that it doesn't happen again.
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In the meantime, the caterpillar is changing its chemical signature to dupe other species
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of ants to not deplete the population of host ants!
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6.)
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Hairworms and Grasshoppers A parasite known as Spinochordodes Tellinii
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or more simply the hairworm, develops inside the grasshopper.
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The worm then slowly begins to eat all the grasshopper's internal organs, leaving just
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the legs, head, and outer shell.
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The worm can grow to be much bigger than the grasshopper, about three to four times bigger!!
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Once the parasite is fully grown, it has complete control over the grasshopper.
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It then brainwashed its host into a death dive into a body of water, which is something
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the grasshopper would never do on its own.
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From there, the worm can detach itself from the grasshopper and carry on with its adventures,
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usually looking for a mate.
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Once the worm is no longer attached to the grasshopper, the grasshopper is left to drown
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and die in the waters.
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For years, scientists have researched how and why these hairworms are able to brainwash
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the grasshoppers to basically commit suicide.
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Through their studies, researchers believe that the worm produces proteins which affect
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the central nervous system of the grasshopper.
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5.)
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Toxoplasma Gondii Toxoplasma Gondii is a parasite that can actually
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change your behaviour and how you act, especially towards your cat.
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It is more commonly called Toxoplasmosis, which is the name of the infection Toxoplasma
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Gondii creates.
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Turns out that domestic cats are the only known definitive hosts where the parasite
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can reproduce and the CDC says that about 40 million people in the United States alone,
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may be infected and not even know it!!
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The parasite is found all over the world, but if you are a healthy adult there are almost
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no observable symptoms but you might really, really be attracted to cats.
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Studies have shown that rats and mice infected with Toxoplasmosis changed their behavior
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and were no longer afraid of cats, making it easier for them to get eaten, and then
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the parasite could infect the cat and keep on spreading.
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Once the cat is infected, their behavior starts to change and they often show more symptoms
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of the infection than any other warm-blooded animal or human.
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For instance, they become depressed, which effects their mood and behavior.
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On top of this, other symptoms of Toxoplasmosis are loss of appetite, vomiting, seizures,
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shortness of breath, muscle weakness, and they might even become partially or completely
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paralyzed.
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More recently toxoplasmosis has been linked to severe neurological disorders such as schizophrenia
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and bipolar disorder.
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Also people with the infection are no longer grossed out by the smell of cat urine.
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You can catch toxoplasmosis by cleaning out a litterbox of an infected cat, eating contaminated
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meat or shellfish, accidentally ingesting contaminated soil (like if you don't wash
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your hands after gardening, or you eat unwashed vegetables), and from mother to child which
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can cause severe birth defects.
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Like I said before, for healthy adults you could go your whole life and never show any
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symptoms but for people with weak immune systems and infants it can cause some serious illnesses.
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4.)
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Spiny-Headed Worm Like the Euhaplorchis Californiensis, the
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Acanthocephalans is a gut dwelling parasite.
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More simply known as the thorny-headed or spiny-headed worm, the adult worm dwells in
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the guts of a common bird known as the starling.
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This worm can vary in length as it can be several millimeters and grow up to ten centimeters
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(almost four inches long).
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Like other parasites, the worm lays its eggs inside the bird and those larvae travel out
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through the bird's feces.
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From there, they look for innocent pill bugs (or roly polys) on the forest floor.
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When the pill bug eats the eggs unknowingly, the larvae from the spiny-headed worm starts
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taking over its body and eating the pill bug from the inside out.
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Eventually, the worms begin to take over the pillbugs brain, and alter the brain's chemistry
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to make them love light.
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Instead of hiding under rocks, which is normal behavior for a pill bug, the bug starts to
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roam around out in the open.
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This makes the pill bug easily exposed for a bird to snatch up as food and once again,
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the starling's sharp eye finds them and eats them and the cycle continues.
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3.)
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Castrator Barnacles The castrator barnacles, more commonly known
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as the Sacculina carcini, is a parasite that grows inside a crab.
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But as you can imagine, it's called “the castrator” for a reason.
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The larva seek out unsuspecting crab and enters its shell from where it is the most vulnerable.
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It becomes a living syringe and attaches itself into the bloodstream.
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The more the Sacculina grows, the more it takes control of the crab.
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Soon, the crab no longer grows, molts, digests, or reproduces.
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This is when the crab stops taking care of itself and starts taking care of the parasite
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and any offspring.
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All the crab's nourishments go into the Sacculina and its tendrils spread throughout
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the crab, taking over body and mind.
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It castrates the crab making it no longer able to reproduce.
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The male crab's gonads shrink, its abdomen grows in order to carry the offspring of the
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Sacculina, and it stops developing its fighting claws.
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Once the eggs are ready to be released from the crab, the crab jumps up and down in the
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water, releasing the eggs, and then stirs the eggs around with its claws so the eggs
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can find their own host.
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These body snatchers affect beyond their hosts and are affecting the rest of the environment.
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2.)
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Glyptapanteles Wasp The Glyptapanteles is a genus of wasp that
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turn caterpillars into zombies.
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The female wasps inject their eggs into caterpillars which are already alive and well.
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From there, the eggs hatch and the larvae start to grow.
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As they are growing, they slowly start taking over the caterpillar, feeding on its fluids
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and taking over its mind to turn it into a bodyguard that protects them.
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The caterpillar slowly starves to death as the larvae continue to grow.
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When they are ready, the larvae mature and gnaw their way out of its skin en masse!!
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It is then the caterpillar dies and the wasps go on to find a new caterpillar to use as
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the host for their eggs.
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In recent years, scientists have brought this life cycle into their labs for study.
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Through this research we have learned that they can greatly boost their chances of survival
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compared to other wasps.
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But geez, these guys are hard core.
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1.)
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Cyborg Beetle Scientists from two different universities
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have used biology to create robots that can match the agility and efficiency of animals.
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The Cyborg Beetle is a little biobot that can be used for search and rescue missions
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and as a spying tool.
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Researchers from the University of California, Berkley and Nanyang Technical University in
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Singapore attached a backpack to a giant flower beetle.
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This beetle is native to Africa and is about 2 inches long.
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They are controlled through electrical stimulation, which tells the beetle's muscles when to
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move.
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First, there are electrodes inserted at certain parts of the beetle's legs, flight muscles,
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and optic lobes.
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These electrodes are connected to the microchip backpacks, which are attached to the beetles
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using organic beeswax.
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Then, the scientists use a remote control to stimulate the muscles and make the beetle
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take off, change direction during flight, or hover.
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The first remote-controlled beetle was created in 2009, and since then scientists have continued
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to expand on the idea of Cyborg beetles.
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Beetles are sturdy and can carry a heavy load including electronic sensors, microphones,
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thermal sensors, all kinds of things.
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Researchers argue that these beetles would be cheaper and perform better than mechanical
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drones.
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Now, these animal-computer hybrid robots will start to include dragonflies and cockroaches.
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Cyborg beetles and could help us explore areas not accessible before, such as collapsed buildings
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and all kinds of other things.
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Thanks for watching!!!
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Hope this didn't scare you too much!!
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See nature, is scarier than Game of Thrones sometimes!!
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Remember to subscribe, and I'll see you next time!