Parasites have a complex life cycle. According to scientists, this cycle involves different hosts. It all has to do with how these microscopic beings reach their vital development. We are sure you’ll be shocked when you learn how they do it!
Let us tell you the story of a curious sea parasite known as “tapeworm.” This parasite sails calmly through the ocean, patiently traveling from victim to victim until it reaches its final destination: the flamingo.
Tapeworms go around the sea invading creatures such as the brine shrimp. These small animals go around minding their own business until the tapeworm enters their organism and practically starts controlling their actions.
Brine shrimps are transparent and are solitary creatures. Shrimps attacked by this parasite turn red and can be seen in whole schools of shrimp to make them visible to the flamingos.
With no other way out, these large pink birds ingest the shrimp, and then the tapeworm parasite begins to reproduce inside them. Just like that, shrimps get controlled by this microscopic being that is unrecognizable to the naked eye.
The manipulation of parasites and their scope
For us, this may seem like a story taken out of a horror movie, but parasitic manipulations happen naturally in basically every ecosystem. It happens to many animals and other beings like viruses, worms, insects, fungi, and many more. All of them, with the sole purpose of replacing the wills of their hosts or hosts.
Carl Zimmer’s book Parasite Rex explains the phenomenon of manipulation very well and even makes us wonder if there is a possibility of parasites taking control of human brains.
Parasites are truly compelling and a kind of macabre. However, these beings invite us to forget about our human morals and try to understand what type of life they lead. Actually, they are full of unexpected twists and turns and explanations.
Being too small to be seen by the naked eye, it’s easy to forget about their existence and the threat they might represent to our health. But, their survival relies on invading other creatures, including human beings. For example, Toxoplasma gondii or toxo infects a wide variety of mammals; however, it can only reproduce in cats. If the parasite enters another animal, it will do its best to follow the delicious smell of cat urine to ensure its life.
So far, it is known that toxo releases an enzyme that produces dopamine in the brain and activates a feeling of reward and motivation. We also know that it is a single cell without a body, connections, or other elements. What is unknown is how it acts in humans and whether it can live inside us. We know that it infects mammals and, therefore, it would be illogical to believe that it cannot invade our organism.
Following their trace
In the absence of evidence of parasitic manipulation in humans, the possibility of toxo controlling our brains is completely ruled out. However, this manipulation is a critical and common part of the world around us. The most important thing is that scientists are discovering more and more parasites and are succeeding in analyzing how they control their hosts.
One of the most impressive features of parasite manipulation is that parasites render their hosts helpless. They completely transform their sense of animal identity and control them absolutely.
There is still much more to know about parasite manipulation. But this is just one more example of the mysterious and crazy ways in which nature works. After all, we barely know a small part of it.
Text and photos courtesy of Ecoosfera
Cover photo from Pexels: Skyler Ewing
Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards
