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"slug": "body-snatchers-four-of-natures-freakiest-parasites",
"title": "Body Snatchers: Four of Nature’s Freakiest Parasites",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cbr>Zombies, vampires and mind-controlling body snatchers aren’t just fantastical creatures from horror movies. In nature, a fungus can control the mind of a fruit fly, a hairworm can hijack a cricket’s brain and body, tiny vampire-like mites feast on honeybees, and a tiny parasite can sabotage a monarch butterfly’s metamorphosis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zombies, mind control, vampires. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers isn’t as far fetched as you might think. In fact, it’s happening all around us – right now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like horsehair worms that enter the body of a cricket and then take over its mind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or diabolical varroa mites that live off the bodies of honeybees and their offspring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And tiny parasites that hide on a Monarch caterpillar’s favorite food, and attack it from inside – as it grows.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First up, see how this killer fungus turns a fruit fly into a zombie that will do its bidding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We like to think we’re in control – that our minds are our own.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But that’s not true for this fruit fly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its brain has been hijacked by another organism and it’s not going to end well.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It all starts when the fly is innocently walking around, sipping on overripe fruit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It picks up an invisible fungus spore, which bores under its skin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a few days, everything seems normal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But inside, the fungus is growing, feeding on the fly’s fat, and infiltrating its mind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At dusk on the fourth or fifth day, the fly gets a little erratic, wandering around.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It climbs to a high place. Scientists call this behavior “summiting.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then it starts twitching. The fungus is in control.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fly sticks out its mouthpart and spits out a tiny drop of sticky liquid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That glues the fly down, sealing its fate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few minutes later, its wings shoot up. And it dies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that the fungus has forced the fly into this death pose – wings out of the way – nothing can stop it. It emerges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tiny spore launchers burst out of the fly’s skin. Hundreds of spores shoot out at high speed, catching a breeze if the fly climbed high enough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They’re the next generation of killer fungus. It continues for hours, spores flying out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These flies are in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if spores land on a wing, which they can’t bore into, they shoot out a secondary spore to increase their chances of spreading.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So how does a fungus take control of a brain?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Harvard, Carolyn Elya is trying to understand that.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She thinks the fungus secretes chemicals to manipulate the fly’s neurons, maybe stimulating the ones that make flies climb.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But don’t worry: The fungus can’t hurt humans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists have tried to harness its power for our benefit, to kill flies in our kitchens and farms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They haven’t had any luck though. The deadly spores are actually pretty fragile and short-lived.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It turns out, this lethal puppet master does only what it needs to for its *own* survival.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How’s your appetite for more mind control? These hairworms get inside the body – and brain – of a cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The day starts normally enough. You give your pet some food and water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But later in your pet’s water dish, you find this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A hairworm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It didn’t get here on its own.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It came out of a little cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don’t believe me? OK.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These hairworms are gnarly parasites. They actually control a cricket’s mind to get to their home: the water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hairworm’s journey starts innocently enough in a river, as an egg – one of many in this long string.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The eggs grow into squiggly larvae, which get eaten by a mayfly larva that also lives in the river.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And inside the mayfly is exactly where the hairworm needs to be.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hairworm uses this pointy part to burrow into the mayfly’s flesh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then it curls up and waits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because, really, it’s not after a mayfly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s after a cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it sits tight, while the mayfly larva turns into an adult and heads to dry land where it just might get eaten by a cricket – that has no idea what it’s in for.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inside the cricket, the hairworm goes at it, eating all the cricket’s stored-up fat, for about a month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cricket loses its chirp, but the hairworm doesn’t kill the cricket because the worm needs a lift back to the water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crickets usually avoid bodies of water. They’re not great swimmers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the worm takes over, boosting chemicals in the cricket’s brain, which make the cricket walk around mindlessly until it happens to reach water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists in France watched this infected cricket make a beeline for the pool.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hairworm makes a break for it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still going.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ugh, that’s just – ugh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But don’t worry. They don’t target humans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ready for more?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This one at the University of New Mexico has a whole lot of hairworms inside it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They don’t waste any time, curling around each other to mate even before they’re fully outside the cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it’s more than a gruesome spectacle of nature.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learning about these hairworms could help scientists understand parasites like toxoplasma that make us very sick.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for the crickets, don’t feel bad.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If they don’t drown, most of them survive their ordeal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least that’s what scientists have seen in the lab.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They go back to being crickets and hopefully stay on dry land.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that’s not all. Vampiric mites are hungry for honeybee organs, and could destroy a whole colony. Unless the bees eat them first.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here’s a go-to recipe for beekeepers. It’s called a “sugar shake.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take a half-cup of bees. That’s about 300.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Put them in a jar and cover them with a mesh lid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Add two tablespoons confectioners’ sugar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shake for 30 seconds. We’re going for a nice, even coat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Empty the sugar onto a tray. And there you have it: frosted varroa mites, aka Varroa destructor. They’re a honeybee’s worst enemy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fine-powdered sugar made them lose the grip they had on their hosts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A minute ago, the mites were on the bees in the hive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s as if you were carrying around a tick the size of a dinner plate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every year, up to half the managed honeybee hives in the United States die from hazards like pesticide exposure, lack of flowers to forage on year-round, and varroa mites.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To feed, a varroa mite nestles between the bees’ protective plates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It digs in with its gnarly mouth, the gnathosoma. The mite sinks it into a crucial organ called the fat body. It’s a layer of tissue that lines the abdomen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sort of like the human liver, the fat body helps the bee break down harmful stuff, including pesticides. And it maintains the bee’s immune system. So, when varroa mites attack the fat body, they seriously weaken the bee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mites can also transmit a virus that causes a bee to be born with deformed wings, no good for flying.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let’s go back to the “sugar shake.” Beekeepers use them to monitor the varroa mites in their hives.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As few as three mites per half-cup of bees could kill a hive within the year. That’s because varroa mites are great at sneaking into hives, hiding, and reproducing like mad.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first mite gets into a hive by hitching a ride on a bee from another colony. Maybe the bee’s own colony wasn’t doing well and it was looking for a new home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mite sniffs around for a bee larva and sneaks in right before the bees cover the cell with wax.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The defenseless larva is now trapped with its enemy, which begins to feed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the larva grows into a pupa, the mite, called a foundress, starts her family. Take a look underneath this bee pupa.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mite’s firstborn is always a son. The rest are daughters. They’re hard to tell apart when they’re young.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the siblings come of age inside the cell, they’ll meet up on this pile of mite poop – maybe they’re guided by the scent. And they’ll mate with each other.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes two foundresses make it into a cell. Then their offspring get to mate with someone they’re not related to.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mites live off the bee pupa, but they don’t kill it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the bee is all grown up, it chews its way out of the cell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mite slips onto its next victim.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, why don’t the bees just pick those mites off themselves?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, we didn’t start seeing varroa mites in the U.S. until the 1980s. They evolved on eastern honeybees, in Asia. That’s why the western honeybees in the Americas and Europe aren’t yet good at defending against them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When beekeepers find mites in a sugar shake, they treat a hive with pesticide strips that kill the mites. But mites are becoming resistant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, researchers are selectively breeding honeybees to fight back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Department of Agriculture and private companies are breeding bees that can sniff out varroa mites. When the bees find some, they uncap the cells and interrupt reproduction. The bees then, um, “recycle” the unlucky pupa. Yep, they’re eating it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Purdue and Central State universities, scientists breed honeybees known as “mite-biters.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After collecting sperm from a male bee, they inseminate a queen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the queen and the male come from colonies that are particularly good at killing mites by chewing off their legs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a grisly end for these tormentors and – just maybe – a fair shake for the honeybees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, monarch butterfly metamorphosis is a splendid thing – unless it gets hijacked by a parasite.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a magical moment in the life of a monarch butterfly — and a vulnerable one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its metamorphosis complete — it breaks free from its chrysalis and pumps fluid from its abdomen into its spectacular new wings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But for some it’s a struggle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An old enemy, a parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, known as OE, is making it harder for monarchs to undergo this crucial transformation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The infection causes sticky sores on the abdomen, trapping the butterfly inside its own chrysalis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And by trying to help monarchs, we humans might be making it worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each summer, monarchs make their homes in milkweed patches all over North America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When infected females lay their eggs on the plant, they unknowingly drop microscopic OE spores onto the eggs and surrounding leaves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few days later the next generation begins.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The caterpillar goes to work, munching on the empty shell of its old egg.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then it’s on to the milkweed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With each bite, the caterpillar downs more and more of these microscopic, football-shaped spores.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inside the caterpillar’s gut, the spores break open, releasing wormy-looking parasites that burrow out of the gut and into the caterpillars flesh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The parasite starts multiplying rapidly, stealing nutrients and taking up space where the monarch would normally grow skin and scales.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it’s time to emerge, the weakened butterfly fights to free itself from the sticky chrysalis – attracting predators and exhausting itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some never escape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Others do, but with wings that are all crumpled and deformed, never fully extending.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or just bent and uneven, making it harder to fly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta take samples of monarch scales to hunt for OE under the microscope.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See all those tiny black specs wedged in between the monarch’s scales?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those are OE spores.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, this one’s infected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But OE has been around a long time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what’s making it such a big problem now?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, monarchs have lost much of their summertime milkweed habitat to agriculture and development.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every stage of their life cycle is connected to this family of unassuming plants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of summer the local milkweed dies off and the monarchs head south for the winter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the plant dies back, it takes the OE down with it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That’s good.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, in an effort to help monarchs, some of us plant tropical milkweed in our gardens, with its showy yellow and red flowers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tropical milkweed sticks around a lot later into the year than native milkweeds.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means more time for OE to build up on its leaves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And because the tropical kind doesn’t die back with the rest of the milkweed, some monarchs don’t get the signal to start migrating.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They just hang out on the infested plants, missing their chance to hook up with all the other butterflies that spend their winters partying down south.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What’s worse, they spread OE to healthy butterflies that pass through on their migration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, if you wanna help the monarchs – do ’em a solid!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cut back your tropical milkweed in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the next time you plant milkweed make sure it’s a native kind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With all the problems that monarchs face, this is one small thing we can do to help.\u003c/p>\n",
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>Zombies, vampires and mind-controlling body snatchers aren’t just fantastical creatures from horror movies. In nature, a fungus can control the mind of a fruit fly, a hairworm can hijack a cricket’s brain and body, tiny vampire-like mites feast on honeybees, and a tiny parasite can sabotage a monarch butterfly’s metamorphosis.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>Zombies, vampires and mind-controlling body snatchers aren’t just fantastical creatures from horror movies. In nature, a fungus can control the mind of a fruit fly, a hairworm can hijack a cricket’s brain and body, tiny vampire-like mites feast on honeybees, and a tiny parasite can sabotage a monarch butterfly’s metamorphosis.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Zombies, mind control, vampires. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers isn’t as far fetched as you might think. In fact, it’s happening all around us – right now.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Zombies, mind control, vampires. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers isn’t as far fetched as you might think. In fact, it’s happening all around us – right now.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Like horsehair worms that enter the body of a cricket and then take over its mind.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Like horsehair worms that enter the body of a cricket and then take over its mind.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Or diabolical varroa mites that live off the bodies of honeybees and their offspring.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Or diabolical varroa mites that live off the bodies of honeybees and their offspring.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And tiny parasites that hide on a Monarch caterpillar’s favorite food, and attack it from inside – as it grows.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And tiny parasites that hide on a Monarch caterpillar’s favorite food, and attack it from inside – as it grows.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>First up, see how this killer fungus turns a fruit fly into a zombie that will do its bidding.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>First up, see how this killer fungus turns a fruit fly into a zombie that will do its bidding.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We like to think we’re in control – that our minds are our own.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>We like to think we’re in control – that our minds are our own.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But that’s not true for this fruit fly.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But that’s not true for this fruit fly.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Its brain has been hijacked by another organism and it’s not going to end well.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Its brain has been hijacked by another organism and it’s not going to end well.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It all starts when the fly is innocently walking around, sipping on overripe fruit.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It all starts when the fly is innocently walking around, sipping on overripe fruit.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It picks up an invisible fungus spore, which bores under its skin.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It picks up an invisible fungus spore, which bores under its skin.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For a few days, everything seems normal.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>For a few days, everything seems normal.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But inside, the fungus is growing, feeding on the fly’s fat, and infiltrating its mind.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But inside, the fungus is growing, feeding on the fly’s fat, and infiltrating its mind.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At dusk on the fourth or fifth day, the fly gets a little erratic, wandering around.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>At dusk on the fourth or fifth day, the fly gets a little erratic, wandering around.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It climbs to a high place. Scientists call this behavior “summiting.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It climbs to a high place. Scientists call this behavior “summiting.”\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then it starts twitching. The fungus is in control.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Then it starts twitching. The fungus is in control.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fly sticks out its mouthpart and spits out a tiny drop of sticky liquid.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The fly sticks out its mouthpart and spits out a tiny drop of sticky liquid.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That glues the fly down, sealing its fate.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That glues the fly down, sealing its fate.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A few minutes later, its wings shoot up. And it dies.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A few minutes later, its wings shoot up. And it dies.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now that the fungus has forced the fly into this death pose – wings out of the way – nothing can stop it. It emerges.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Now that the fungus has forced the fly into this death pose – wings out of the way – nothing can stop it. It emerges.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tiny spore launchers burst out of the fly’s skin. Hundreds of spores shoot out at high speed, catching a breeze if the fly climbed high enough.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Tiny spore launchers burst out of the fly’s skin. Hundreds of spores shoot out at high speed, catching a breeze if the fly climbed high enough.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They’re the next generation of killer fungus. It continues for hours, spores flying out.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>They’re the next generation of killer fungus. It continues for hours, spores flying out.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These flies are in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if spores land on a wing, which they can’t bore into, they shoot out a secondary spore to increase their chances of spreading.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>These flies are in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if spores land on a wing, which they can’t bore into, they shoot out a secondary spore to increase their chances of spreading.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So how does a fungus take control of a brain?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So how does a fungus take control of a brain?\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At Harvard, Carolyn Elya is trying to understand that.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>At Harvard, Carolyn Elya is trying to understand that.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She thinks the fungus secretes chemicals to manipulate the fly’s neurons, maybe stimulating the ones that make flies climb.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>She thinks the fungus secretes chemicals to manipulate the fly’s neurons, maybe stimulating the ones that make flies climb.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But don’t worry: The fungus can’t hurt humans.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But don’t worry: The fungus can’t hurt humans.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Scientists have tried to harness its power for our benefit, to kill flies in our kitchens and farms.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Scientists have tried to harness its power for our benefit, to kill flies in our kitchens and farms.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They haven’t had any luck though. The deadly spores are actually pretty fragile and short-lived.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>They haven’t had any luck though. The deadly spores are actually pretty fragile and short-lived.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It turns out, this lethal puppet master does only what it needs to for its *own* survival.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It turns out, this lethal puppet master does only what it needs to for its *own* survival.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>How’s your appetite for more mind control? These hairworms get inside the body – and brain – of a cricket.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>How’s your appetite for more mind control? These hairworms get inside the body – and brain – of a cricket.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The day starts normally enough. You give your pet some food and water.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The day starts normally enough. You give your pet some food and water.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But later in your pet’s water dish, you find this.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But later in your pet’s water dish, you find this.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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{
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A hairworm.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A hairworm.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It didn’t get here on its own.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It didn’t get here on its own.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It came out of a little cricket.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It came out of a little cricket.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Don’t believe me? OK.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Don’t believe me? OK.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These hairworms are gnarly parasites. They actually control a cricket’s mind to get to their home: the water.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>These hairworms are gnarly parasites. They actually control a cricket’s mind to get to their home: the water.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The hairworm’s journey starts innocently enough in a river, as an egg – one of many in this long string.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The hairworm’s journey starts innocently enough in a river, as an egg – one of many in this long string.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The eggs grow into squiggly larvae, which get eaten by a mayfly larva that also lives in the river.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The eggs grow into squiggly larvae, which get eaten by a mayfly larva that also lives in the river.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And inside the mayfly is exactly where the hairworm needs to be.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And inside the mayfly is exactly where the hairworm needs to be.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The hairworm uses this pointy part to burrow into the mayfly’s flesh.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The hairworm uses this pointy part to burrow into the mayfly’s flesh.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then it curls up and waits.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Then it curls up and waits.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because, really, it’s not after a mayfly.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Because, really, it’s not after a mayfly.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s after a cricket.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It’s after a cricket.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So it sits tight, while the mayfly larva turns into an adult and heads to dry land where it just might get eaten by a cricket – that has no idea what it’s in for.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So it sits tight, while the mayfly larva turns into an adult and heads to dry land where it just might get eaten by a cricket – that has no idea what it’s in for.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Inside the cricket, the hairworm goes at it, eating all the cricket’s stored-up fat, for about a month.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Inside the cricket, the hairworm goes at it, eating all the cricket’s stored-up fat, for about a month.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The cricket loses its chirp, but the hairworm doesn’t kill the cricket because the worm needs a lift back to the water.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The cricket loses its chirp, but the hairworm doesn’t kill the cricket because the worm needs a lift back to the water.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Crickets usually avoid bodies of water. They’re not great swimmers.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Crickets usually avoid bodies of water. They’re not great swimmers.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So the worm takes over, boosting chemicals in the cricket’s brain, which make the cricket walk around mindlessly until it happens to reach water.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So the worm takes over, boosting chemicals in the cricket’s brain, which make the cricket walk around mindlessly until it happens to reach water.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Scientists in France watched this infected cricket make a beeline for the pool.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Scientists in France watched this infected cricket make a beeline for the pool.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The hairworm makes a break for it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The hairworm makes a break for it.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Still going.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Still going.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ugh, that’s just – ugh.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Ugh, that’s just – ugh.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But don’t worry. They don’t target humans.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But don’t worry. They don’t target humans.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ready for more?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Ready for more?\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This one at the University of New Mexico has a whole lot of hairworms inside it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>This one at the University of New Mexico has a whole lot of hairworms inside it.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They don’t waste any time, curling around each other to mate even before they’re fully outside the cricket.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>They don’t waste any time, curling around each other to mate even before they’re fully outside the cricket.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But it’s more than a gruesome spectacle of nature.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But it’s more than a gruesome spectacle of nature.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Learning about these hairworms could help scientists understand parasites like toxoplasma that make us very sick.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Learning about these hairworms could help scientists understand parasites like toxoplasma that make us very sick.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As for the crickets, don’t feel bad.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As for the crickets, don’t feel bad.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If they don’t drown, most of them survive their ordeal.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>If they don’t drown, most of them survive their ordeal.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At least that’s what scientists have seen in the lab.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>At least that’s what scientists have seen in the lab.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They go back to being crickets and hopefully stay on dry land.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>They go back to being crickets and hopefully stay on dry land.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And that’s not all. Vampiric mites are hungry for honeybee organs, and could destroy a whole colony. Unless the bees eat them first.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And that’s not all. Vampiric mites are hungry for honeybee organs, and could destroy a whole colony. Unless the bees eat them first.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here’s a go-to recipe for beekeepers. It’s called a “sugar shake.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Here’s a go-to recipe for beekeepers. It’s called a “sugar shake.”\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Take a half-cup of bees. That’s about 300.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Take a half-cup of bees. That’s about 300.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Put them in a jar and cover them with a mesh lid.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Put them in a jar and cover them with a mesh lid.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Add two tablespoons confectioners’ sugar.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Add two tablespoons confectioners’ sugar.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shake for 30 seconds. We’re going for a nice, even coat.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Shake for 30 seconds. We’re going for a nice, even coat.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Empty the sugar onto a tray. And there you have it: frosted varroa mites, aka Varroa destructor. They’re a honeybee’s worst enemy.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Empty the sugar onto a tray. And there you have it: frosted varroa mites, aka Varroa destructor. They’re a honeybee’s worst enemy.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fine-powdered sugar made them lose the grip they had on their hosts.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The fine-powdered sugar made them lose the grip they had on their hosts.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A minute ago, the mites were on the bees in the hive.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A minute ago, the mites were on the bees in the hive.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s as if you were carrying around a tick the size of a dinner plate.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It’s as if you were carrying around a tick the size of a dinner plate.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every year, up to half the managed honeybee hives in the United States die from hazards like pesticide exposure, lack of flowers to forage on year-round, and varroa mites.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Every year, up to half the managed honeybee hives in the United States die from hazards like pesticide exposure, lack of flowers to forage on year-round, and varroa mites.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To feed, a varroa mite nestles between the bees’ protective plates.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>To feed, a varroa mite nestles between the bees’ protective plates.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It digs in with its gnarly mouth, the gnathosoma. The mite sinks it into a crucial organ called the fat body. It’s a layer of tissue that lines the abdomen.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It digs in with its gnarly mouth, the gnathosoma. The mite sinks it into a crucial organ called the fat body. It’s a layer of tissue that lines the abdomen.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sort of like the human liver, the fat body helps the bee break down harmful stuff, including pesticides. And it maintains the bee’s immune system. So, when varroa mites attack the fat body, they seriously weaken the bee.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Sort of like the human liver, the fat body helps the bee break down harmful stuff, including pesticides. And it maintains the bee’s immune system. So, when varroa mites attack the fat body, they seriously weaken the bee.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mites can also transmit a virus that causes a bee to be born with deformed wings, no good for flying.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The mites can also transmit a virus that causes a bee to be born with deformed wings, no good for flying.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Let’s go back to the “sugar shake.” Beekeepers use them to monitor the varroa mites in their hives.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Let’s go back to the “sugar shake.” Beekeepers use them to monitor the varroa mites in their hives.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As few as three mites per half-cup of bees could kill a hive within the year. That’s because varroa mites are great at sneaking into hives, hiding, and reproducing like mad.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As few as three mites per half-cup of bees could kill a hive within the year. That’s because varroa mites are great at sneaking into hives, hiding, and reproducing like mad.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The first mite gets into a hive by hitching a ride on a bee from another colony. Maybe the bee’s own colony wasn’t doing well and it was looking for a new home.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The first mite gets into a hive by hitching a ride on a bee from another colony. Maybe the bee’s own colony wasn’t doing well and it was looking for a new home.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mite sniffs around for a bee larva and sneaks in right before the bees cover the cell with wax.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The mite sniffs around for a bee larva and sneaks in right before the bees cover the cell with wax.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The defenseless larva is now trapped with its enemy, which begins to feed.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The defenseless larva is now trapped with its enemy, which begins to feed.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the larva grows into a pupa, the mite, called a foundress, starts her family. Take a look underneath this bee pupa.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As the larva grows into a pupa, the mite, called a foundress, starts her family. Take a look underneath this bee pupa.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mite’s firstborn is always a son. The rest are daughters. They’re hard to tell apart when they’re young.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The mite’s firstborn is always a son. The rest are daughters. They’re hard to tell apart when they’re young.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When the siblings come of age inside the cell, they’ll meet up on this pile of mite poop – maybe they’re guided by the scent. And they’ll mate with each other.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>When the siblings come of age inside the cell, they’ll meet up on this pile of mite poop – maybe they’re guided by the scent. And they’ll mate with each other.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sometimes two foundresses make it into a cell. Then their offspring get to mate with someone they’re not related to.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Sometimes two foundresses make it into a cell. Then their offspring get to mate with someone they’re not related to.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mites live off the bee pupa, but they don’t kill it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The mites live off the bee pupa, but they don’t kill it.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When the bee is all grown up, it chews its way out of the cell.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>When the bee is all grown up, it chews its way out of the cell.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
},
"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mite slips onto its next victim.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The mite slips onto its next victim.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, why don’t the bees just pick those mites off themselves?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So, why don’t the bees just pick those mites off themselves?\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Well, we didn’t start seeing varroa mites in the U.S. until the 1980s. They evolved on eastern honeybees, in Asia. That’s why the western honeybees in the Americas and Europe aren’t yet good at defending against them.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Well, we didn’t start seeing varroa mites in the U.S. until the 1980s. They evolved on eastern honeybees, in Asia. That’s why the western honeybees in the Americas and Europe aren’t yet good at defending against them.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When beekeepers find mites in a sugar shake, they treat a hive with pesticide strips that kill the mites. But mites are becoming resistant.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>When beekeepers find mites in a sugar shake, they treat a hive with pesticide strips that kill the mites. But mites are becoming resistant.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, researchers are selectively breeding honeybees to fight back.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So, researchers are selectively breeding honeybees to fight back.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The U.S. Department of Agriculture and private companies are breeding bees that can sniff out varroa mites. When the bees find some, they uncap the cells and interrupt reproduction. The bees then, um, “recycle” the unlucky pupa. Yep, they’re eating it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The U.S. Department of Agriculture and private companies are breeding bees that can sniff out varroa mites. When the bees find some, they uncap the cells and interrupt reproduction. The bees then, um, “recycle” the unlucky pupa. Yep, they’re eating it.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At Purdue and Central State universities, scientists breed honeybees known as “mite-biters.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>At Purdue and Central State universities, scientists breed honeybees known as “mite-biters.”\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After collecting sperm from a male bee, they inseminate a queen.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>After collecting sperm from a male bee, they inseminate a queen.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Both the queen and the male come from colonies that are particularly good at killing mites by chewing off their legs.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Both the queen and the male come from colonies that are particularly good at killing mites by chewing off their legs.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s a grisly end for these tormentors and – just maybe – a fair shake for the honeybees.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It’s a grisly end for these tormentors and – just maybe – a fair shake for the honeybees.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Finally, monarch butterfly metamorphosis is a splendid thing – unless it gets hijacked by a parasite.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Finally, monarch butterfly metamorphosis is a splendid thing – unless it gets hijacked by a parasite.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s a magical moment in the life of a monarch butterfly — and a vulnerable one.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It’s a magical moment in the life of a monarch butterfly — and a vulnerable one.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Its metamorphosis complete — it breaks free from its chrysalis and pumps fluid from its abdomen into its spectacular new wings.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Its metamorphosis complete — it breaks free from its chrysalis and pumps fluid from its abdomen into its spectacular new wings.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But for some it’s a struggle.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But for some it’s a struggle.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An old enemy, a parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, known as OE, is making it harder for monarchs to undergo this crucial transformation.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>An old enemy, a parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, known as OE, is making it harder for monarchs to undergo this crucial transformation.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The infection causes sticky sores on the abdomen, trapping the butterfly inside its own chrysalis.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The infection causes sticky sores on the abdomen, trapping the butterfly inside its own chrysalis.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And by trying to help monarchs, we humans might be making it worse.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And by trying to help monarchs, we humans might be making it worse.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Each summer, monarchs make their homes in milkweed patches all over North America.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Each summer, monarchs make their homes in milkweed patches all over North America.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When infected females lay their eggs on the plant, they unknowingly drop microscopic OE spores onto the eggs and surrounding leaves.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>When infected females lay their eggs on the plant, they unknowingly drop microscopic OE spores onto the eggs and surrounding leaves.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A few days later the next generation begins.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A few days later the next generation begins.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The caterpillar goes to work, munching on the empty shell of its old egg.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The caterpillar goes to work, munching on the empty shell of its old egg.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then it’s on to the milkweed.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Then it’s on to the milkweed.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With each bite, the caterpillar downs more and more of these microscopic, football-shaped spores.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>With each bite, the caterpillar downs more and more of these microscopic, football-shaped spores.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Inside the caterpillar’s gut, the spores break open, releasing wormy-looking parasites that burrow out of the gut and into the caterpillars flesh.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Inside the caterpillar’s gut, the spores break open, releasing wormy-looking parasites that burrow out of the gut and into the caterpillars flesh.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When the caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis …\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When the caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis …\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The parasite starts multiplying rapidly, stealing nutrients and taking up space where the monarch would normally grow skin and scales.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The parasite starts multiplying rapidly, stealing nutrients and taking up space where the monarch would normally grow skin and scales.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When it’s time to emerge, the weakened butterfly fights to free itself from the sticky chrysalis – attracting predators and exhausting itself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When it’s time to emerge, the weakened butterfly fights to free itself from the sticky chrysalis – attracting predators and exhausting itself.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some never escape.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Some never escape.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Others do, but with wings that are all crumpled and deformed, never fully extending.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Others do, but with wings that are all crumpled and deformed, never fully extending.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Or just bent and uneven, making it harder to fly.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Or just bent and uneven, making it harder to fly.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta take samples of monarch scales to hunt for OE under the microscope.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta take samples of monarch scales to hunt for OE under the microscope.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>See all those tiny black specs wedged in between the monarch’s scales?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>See all those tiny black specs wedged in between the monarch’s scales?\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those are OE spores.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Those are OE spores.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, this one’s infected.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, this one’s infected.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But OE has been around a long time.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But OE has been around a long time.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So what’s making it such a big problem now?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So what’s making it such a big problem now?\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Well, monarchs have lost much of their summertime milkweed habitat to agriculture and development.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Well, monarchs have lost much of their summertime milkweed habitat to agriculture and development.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every stage of their life cycle is connected to this family of unassuming plants.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Every stage of their life cycle is connected to this family of unassuming plants.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the end of summer the local milkweed dies off and the monarchs head south for the winter.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>At the end of summer the local milkweed dies off and the monarchs head south for the winter.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When the plant dies back, it takes the OE down with it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>When the plant dies back, it takes the OE down with it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s good.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That’s good.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But, in an effort to help monarchs, some of us plant tropical milkweed in our gardens, with its showy yellow and red flowers.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But, in an effort to help monarchs, some of us plant tropical milkweed in our gardens, with its showy yellow and red flowers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tropical milkweed sticks around a lot later into the year than native milkweeds.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Tropical milkweed sticks around a lot later into the year than native milkweeds.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That means more time for OE to build up on its leaves.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That means more time for OE to build up on its leaves.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And because the tropical kind doesn’t die back with the rest of the milkweed, some monarchs don’t get the signal to start migrating.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And because the tropical kind doesn’t die back with the rest of the milkweed, some monarchs don’t get the signal to start migrating.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They just hang out on the infested plants, missing their chance to hook up with all the other butterflies that spend their winters partying down south.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>They just hang out on the infested plants, missing their chance to hook up with all the other butterflies that spend their winters partying down south.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What’s worse, they spread OE to healthy butterflies that pass through on their migration.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What’s worse, they spread OE to healthy butterflies that pass through on their migration.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, if you wanna help the monarchs – do ’em a solid!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So, if you wanna help the monarchs – do ’em a solid!\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cut back your tropical milkweed in the fall.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cut back your tropical milkweed in the fall.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And the next time you plant milkweed make sure it’s a native kind.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With all the problems that monarchs face, this is one small thing we can do to help.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With all the problems that monarchs face, this is one small thing we can do to help.\u003c/p>\n"
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"title": "Body Snatchers: Four of Nature’s Freakiest Parasites | KQED",
"description": "Zombies, vampires and mind-controlling body snatchers aren’t just fantastical creatures from horror movies. In nature, a fungus can control the mind of a fruit fly, a hairworm can hijack a cricket’s brain and body, tiny vampire-like mites feast on honeybees, and a tiny parasite can sabotage a monarch butterfly’s metamorphosis. TRANSCRIPT Zombies, mind control, vampires.",
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"headline": "Body Snatchers: Four of Nature’s Freakiest Parasites",
"datePublished": "2026-10-27T08:00:00-07:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cbr>Zombies, vampires and mind-controlling body snatchers aren’t just fantastical creatures from horror movies. In nature, a fungus can control the mind of a fruit fly, a hairworm can hijack a cricket’s brain and body, tiny vampire-like mites feast on honeybees, and a tiny parasite can sabotage a monarch butterfly’s metamorphosis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zombies, mind control, vampires. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers isn’t as far fetched as you might think. In fact, it’s happening all around us – right now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like horsehair worms that enter the body of a cricket and then take over its mind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or diabolical varroa mites that live off the bodies of honeybees and their offspring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And tiny parasites that hide on a Monarch caterpillar’s favorite food, and attack it from inside – as it grows.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First up, see how this killer fungus turns a fruit fly into a zombie that will do its bidding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We like to think we’re in control – that our minds are our own.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But that’s not true for this fruit fly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its brain has been hijacked by another organism and it’s not going to end well.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It all starts when the fly is innocently walking around, sipping on overripe fruit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It picks up an invisible fungus spore, which bores under its skin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a few days, everything seems normal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But inside, the fungus is growing, feeding on the fly’s fat, and infiltrating its mind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At dusk on the fourth or fifth day, the fly gets a little erratic, wandering around.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It climbs to a high place. Scientists call this behavior “summiting.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then it starts twitching. The fungus is in control.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fly sticks out its mouthpart and spits out a tiny drop of sticky liquid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That glues the fly down, sealing its fate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few minutes later, its wings shoot up. And it dies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that the fungus has forced the fly into this death pose – wings out of the way – nothing can stop it. It emerges.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tiny spore launchers burst out of the fly’s skin. Hundreds of spores shoot out at high speed, catching a breeze if the fly climbed high enough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They’re the next generation of killer fungus. It continues for hours, spores flying out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These flies are in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if spores land on a wing, which they can’t bore into, they shoot out a secondary spore to increase their chances of spreading.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So how does a fungus take control of a brain?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Harvard, Carolyn Elya is trying to understand that.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She thinks the fungus secretes chemicals to manipulate the fly’s neurons, maybe stimulating the ones that make flies climb.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But don’t worry: The fungus can’t hurt humans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists have tried to harness its power for our benefit, to kill flies in our kitchens and farms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They haven’t had any luck though. The deadly spores are actually pretty fragile and short-lived.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It turns out, this lethal puppet master does only what it needs to for its *own* survival.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How’s your appetite for more mind control? These hairworms get inside the body – and brain – of a cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The day starts normally enough. You give your pet some food and water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But later in your pet’s water dish, you find this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A hairworm.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It didn’t get here on its own.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It came out of a little cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don’t believe me? OK.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These hairworms are gnarly parasites. They actually control a cricket’s mind to get to their home: the water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hairworm’s journey starts innocently enough in a river, as an egg – one of many in this long string.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The eggs grow into squiggly larvae, which get eaten by a mayfly larva that also lives in the river.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And inside the mayfly is exactly where the hairworm needs to be.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hairworm uses this pointy part to burrow into the mayfly’s flesh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then it curls up and waits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because, really, it’s not after a mayfly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s after a cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it sits tight, while the mayfly larva turns into an adult and heads to dry land where it just might get eaten by a cricket – that has no idea what it’s in for.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inside the cricket, the hairworm goes at it, eating all the cricket’s stored-up fat, for about a month.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cricket loses its chirp, but the hairworm doesn’t kill the cricket because the worm needs a lift back to the water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crickets usually avoid bodies of water. They’re not great swimmers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the worm takes over, boosting chemicals in the cricket’s brain, which make the cricket walk around mindlessly until it happens to reach water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists in France watched this infected cricket make a beeline for the pool.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hairworm makes a break for it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still going.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ugh, that’s just – ugh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But don’t worry. They don’t target humans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ready for more?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This one at the University of New Mexico has a whole lot of hairworms inside it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They don’t waste any time, curling around each other to mate even before they’re fully outside the cricket.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it’s more than a gruesome spectacle of nature.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learning about these hairworms could help scientists understand parasites like toxoplasma that make us very sick.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for the crickets, don’t feel bad.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If they don’t drown, most of them survive their ordeal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least that’s what scientists have seen in the lab.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They go back to being crickets and hopefully stay on dry land.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that’s not all. Vampiric mites are hungry for honeybee organs, and could destroy a whole colony. Unless the bees eat them first.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here’s a go-to recipe for beekeepers. It’s called a “sugar shake.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take a half-cup of bees. That’s about 300.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Put them in a jar and cover them with a mesh lid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Add two tablespoons confectioners’ sugar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shake for 30 seconds. We’re going for a nice, even coat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Empty the sugar onto a tray. And there you have it: frosted varroa mites, aka Varroa destructor. They’re a honeybee’s worst enemy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fine-powdered sugar made them lose the grip they had on their hosts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A minute ago, the mites were on the bees in the hive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s as if you were carrying around a tick the size of a dinner plate.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every year, up to half the managed honeybee hives in the United States die from hazards like pesticide exposure, lack of flowers to forage on year-round, and varroa mites.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To feed, a varroa mite nestles between the bees’ protective plates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It digs in with its gnarly mouth, the gnathosoma. The mite sinks it into a crucial organ called the fat body. It’s a layer of tissue that lines the abdomen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sort of like the human liver, the fat body helps the bee break down harmful stuff, including pesticides. And it maintains the bee’s immune system. So, when varroa mites attack the fat body, they seriously weaken the bee.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mites can also transmit a virus that causes a bee to be born with deformed wings, no good for flying.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let’s go back to the “sugar shake.” Beekeepers use them to monitor the varroa mites in their hives.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As few as three mites per half-cup of bees could kill a hive within the year. That’s because varroa mites are great at sneaking into hives, hiding, and reproducing like mad.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first mite gets into a hive by hitching a ride on a bee from another colony. Maybe the bee’s own colony wasn’t doing well and it was looking for a new home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mite sniffs around for a bee larva and sneaks in right before the bees cover the cell with wax.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The defenseless larva is now trapped with its enemy, which begins to feed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the larva grows into a pupa, the mite, called a foundress, starts her family. Take a look underneath this bee pupa.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mite’s firstborn is always a son. The rest are daughters. They’re hard to tell apart when they’re young.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the siblings come of age inside the cell, they’ll meet up on this pile of mite poop – maybe they’re guided by the scent. And they’ll mate with each other.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes two foundresses make it into a cell. Then their offspring get to mate with someone they’re not related to.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mites live off the bee pupa, but they don’t kill it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the bee is all grown up, it chews its way out of the cell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mite slips onto its next victim.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, why don’t the bees just pick those mites off themselves?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, we didn’t start seeing varroa mites in the U.S. until the 1980s. They evolved on eastern honeybees, in Asia. That’s why the western honeybees in the Americas and Europe aren’t yet good at defending against them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When beekeepers find mites in a sugar shake, they treat a hive with pesticide strips that kill the mites. But mites are becoming resistant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, researchers are selectively breeding honeybees to fight back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Department of Agriculture and private companies are breeding bees that can sniff out varroa mites. When the bees find some, they uncap the cells and interrupt reproduction. The bees then, um, “recycle” the unlucky pupa. Yep, they’re eating it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Purdue and Central State universities, scientists breed honeybees known as “mite-biters.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After collecting sperm from a male bee, they inseminate a queen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the queen and the male come from colonies that are particularly good at killing mites by chewing off their legs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a grisly end for these tormentors and – just maybe – a fair shake for the honeybees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, monarch butterfly metamorphosis is a splendid thing – unless it gets hijacked by a parasite.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s a magical moment in the life of a monarch butterfly — and a vulnerable one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its metamorphosis complete — it breaks free from its chrysalis and pumps fluid from its abdomen into its spectacular new wings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But for some it’s a struggle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An old enemy, a parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, known as OE, is making it harder for monarchs to undergo this crucial transformation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The infection causes sticky sores on the abdomen, trapping the butterfly inside its own chrysalis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And by trying to help monarchs, we humans might be making it worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each summer, monarchs make their homes in milkweed patches all over North America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When infected females lay their eggs on the plant, they unknowingly drop microscopic OE spores onto the eggs and surrounding leaves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few days later the next generation begins.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The caterpillar goes to work, munching on the empty shell of its old egg.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then it’s on to the milkweed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With each bite, the caterpillar downs more and more of these microscopic, football-shaped spores.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inside the caterpillar’s gut, the spores break open, releasing wormy-looking parasites that burrow out of the gut and into the caterpillars flesh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The parasite starts multiplying rapidly, stealing nutrients and taking up space where the monarch would normally grow skin and scales.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it’s time to emerge, the weakened butterfly fights to free itself from the sticky chrysalis – attracting predators and exhausting itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some never escape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Others do, but with wings that are all crumpled and deformed, never fully extending.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or just bent and uneven, making it harder to fly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta take samples of monarch scales to hunt for OE under the microscope.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See all those tiny black specs wedged in between the monarch’s scales?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those are OE spores.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, this one’s infected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But OE has been around a long time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what’s making it such a big problem now?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, monarchs have lost much of their summertime milkweed habitat to agriculture and development.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every stage of their life cycle is connected to this family of unassuming plants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of summer the local milkweed dies off and the monarchs head south for the winter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the plant dies back, it takes the OE down with it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That’s good.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, in an effort to help monarchs, some of us plant tropical milkweed in our gardens, with its showy yellow and red flowers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tropical milkweed sticks around a lot later into the year than native milkweeds.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means more time for OE to build up on its leaves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And because the tropical kind doesn’t die back with the rest of the milkweed, some monarchs don’t get the signal to start migrating.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They just hang out on the infested plants, missing their chance to hook up with all the other butterflies that spend their winters partying down south.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What’s worse, they spread OE to healthy butterflies that pass through on their migration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, if you wanna help the monarchs – do ’em a solid!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cut back your tropical milkweed in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the next time you plant milkweed make sure it’s a native kind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With all the problems that monarchs face, this is one small thing we can do to help.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "extreme-makeovers-arent-just-a-human-thing",
"title": "Extreme Makeovers Aren’t Just a Human Thing",
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"headTitle": "Extreme Makeovers Aren’t Just a Human Thing | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>For these four animals, extreme makeovers are just a part of life. A house fly larva needs a radical transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you. A hungry caterpillar goes on a protein bender to fuel its ultimate glow-up into a butterfly. The axolotl simply refuses to grow up, while the planarian worm has no problem growing a whole new body – and even a head – whenever it needs one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With an extreme makeover, looking fabulous isn’t always the goal. For these four creatures, their growing bodies take radical turns in the course of a lifetime.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cut this flatworm in half, and you get – two flatworms!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even after millions of years of evolution, the axolotl’s still got its youthful glow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This caterpillar is super hungry for a good reason: it’s bulking up to fuel a whole new way of life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But first, the common housefly has to go through a mind-blowing transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Coming of age is awkward, messy, challenging. Even for a house fly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See this pulsing sac on the fly’s head?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a specialized organ that the fly uses just once … to break free from its pupal casing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whew. What a headache!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It all started a few weeks back, when mom and dad had a brief but spirited courtship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Which resulted in these delicate, oblong eggs. And from the eggs: maggots.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hi!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The little squirmers dig right in wherever mom laid them!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After chowing down for a few days, this chonker is now five times its original size.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What it wants now is privacy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over the next four days or so, the maggot’s ivory exoskeleton hardens …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ughhh, I’m going to my room.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>… and darkens to a deep mahogany.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fly is now a pupa.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See these holes? This is how it gets oxygen … and that air just happens to flow through its butt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While things may look quiet on the outside, there’s a lot happening beneath the surface.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is a blowfly – a house fly’s cousin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London X-rayed the pupa to reveal the transformation behind its opaque shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See them go from chubby tube to a complex creature with legs and wings and big eyes?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The once blobby maggot has totally transformed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the cozy casing that protected it now holds it captive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s why this inflatable organ, called the ptilinum, is essential.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fly pumps it full of clear-colored insect blood called hemolymph – and pops the lid off its casing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once the head’s out, the struggle continues.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Next come the front legs, abdomen and back legs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The process of freeing itself is called eclosion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But not everyone makes it: Some get stuck right in the middle. Forever.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The ones that do survive pull the ptilinum into their head.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All that remains is the ptilinal suture. It’s a scar the adult fly will carry around as a reminder of the heroic effort it made to start its life on the outside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now what to do with all these new body parts?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its wings extend from crumpled to elegant as they fill with hemolymph.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This insect has now realized its full potential – to fly off into your house and drive you mad.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you like this video, please hit the like and subscribe buttons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It really helps us reach more people, and we truly appreciate your support!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Don’t judge a flatworm by its simple squirminess. This little worm may help humans learn how to grow new body parts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This goofy little guy is called a planarian.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sure, it’s just a flatworm at the bottom of a pond.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it has a very special superpower, one that scientists would love to harness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To show you … well, it’s going to get a little bit “slasher movie” here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OK, don’t worry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s going to be OK.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seriously. I promise. It doesn’t even hurt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That would be curtains for most organisms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I mean, this piece here is just a chunk, with no head and no tail.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But watch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You can see under a microscope that overnight its wound heals closed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OK, maybe we could do that – more slowly, of course.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But then it starts to regenerate, growing new tissue. It’s that white part, called the blastema.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a week … See those tiny little spots? They’re new eyes grown from scratch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the planarian – can I call it that yet? – it still kind of looks like a blob.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By Day 12, it’s starting to look like a proper planarian. It’s got a head – an entirely new one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And a new tail.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it’s doing its regular planarian things, like, uh, pooping. That’s because one of the first things it started regrowing was a tube called the pharynx, which is how things go in and out. It sucks up food, like this beef liver that scientists are feeding it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After three weeks, it looks totally normal. From that one planarian, you get four.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other animals, like this newt, can regrow a toe or a tail. But planarians are practically the only animal that can regrow a head.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So why can’t we do that? Well, it all comes down to powerful cells known as stem cells.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’re the green dots here. And they make up one fifth of a planarian’s body.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They can turn into different kinds of cells and make every new body part.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We only have stem cells that act like these when we’re embryos.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once we grow up, we pretty much lose this ability. Though doctors have been able to get us to grow back a fingertip.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what if we could grow ourselves anew? A whole arm, or a liver?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists are trying to figure out exactly how planarians do it, and maybe one day these humble flatworms could inspire new ways to heal our injuries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This axolotl salamander just doesn’t want to grow up. They can teach us a few things about staying young, if we help them out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The axolotl isn’t just a frilly salamander with a half-smile and a blank stare.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s named after an Aztec god, who escaped death by morphing into this amphibian shape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a creature that’s a bridge between worlds: the spiritual and the natural; the aquatic and the terrestrial; survival and extinction.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like most of its salamander relatives, the axolotl begins its life as a tiny, translucent egg laid underwater. It grows into a tadpole – a larva with gills and a flattened, fin-shaped tail. In time, many salamanders shed these features, develop lungs, and crawl onto land. But the axolotl never makes the transition ashore. Even as it grows – up to a foot in length – it hangs on to its larval lifestyle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The gills are reddish-purple from the blood cells pulsing through them, pulling oxygen directly from the water. To breathe, it just flaps those gills.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But if that doesn’t work – like if there’s not enough oxygen in the water – the axolotl has a backup: fully functional lungs it can use to gulp air from the surface. These organs are evolutionary leftovers from when its ancestors lived on land. The axolotl’s lungs are a rare example of cryptic metamorphosis – when an animal matures to its next stage of development internally, but doesn’t show it on the outside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite its flexibility, this magnificent vertebrate is in trouble.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the 16th century, the axolotl’s native habitat, Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City, has been built over and polluted as this megacity grew. Now the lake is just a few canals, where the axolotls battle invasive predators, and warming waters from climate change. Here, in the remnants of their ancestral home, only a few hundred are left.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But scattered across the globe, you’ll find thousands of them –not in the wild though. They’re in research labs. Scientists are impressed by the axolotl’s ability to rapidly regenerate damaged limbs, organs, even parts of their brain.And that’s amazing for a vertebrate – an animal with a backbone – like us. Harnessing this healing ability for humans would be a breakthrough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what does it mean if an animal is thriving, only in captivity?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What is a species without its natural habitat?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To preserve what’s left of the axolotl’s wild home, a team of biologists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico started an innovative collaboration. They work with farmers of the chinampas – the traditional floating gardens along the Xochimilco canals where the animals still live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The farmers filter canal water for crops through native aquatic plants and gravel, without the use of pesticides. This protects axolotls from both pollution and invasive predators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For many in Mexico City, axolotls have come to symbolize the connection between humans and the natural world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Humans have put axolotls and our environment in peril. But with traditional knowledge, respect, and some ingenuity, we can give these remarkable animals a chance to come back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a protein kick? So is this hungry caterpillar, storing up enough protein for its radical transformation – and a completely new way of life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, are you on a protein kick? This hungry caterpillar is storing up enough protein for a radical transformation – and a completely new way of life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Let’s face it. Butterflies get all the glory, fluttering around with their flashy looks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But caterpillars? They’re more than just an awkward adolescent phase.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They do all the hard work, so that one day they can look like this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As adults, butterflies really only have one job: mating. They’re basically flying reproduction machines, powered by sugar water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their proboscis is made for sipping nectar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But that liquid diet doesn’t give them much of the protein they need to make eggs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So that hungry, hungry caterpillar has a big job to do. It’s not just eating for itself. It’s stockpiling the protein it will need later on to make the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It starts by eating its way out of the egg.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No leftovers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then it’s onto the main course.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These pipevine swallowtail caterpillars are chowing down on their favorite – and only – food: the pipevine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For a monarch caterpillar, it’s all about the milkweed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In two weeks they’ll grow 20 times longer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s like a human baby growing as tall as a three-story building.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A caterpillar can’t see very well. So it uses antennae to smell for food. Not those big ones on top – those are for feeling around. It’s the tiny ones right down there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It eats and eats and eats … storing up as much protein as possible. Leaves are about one quarter protein.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After packing on the pounds for a couple of weeks, this monarch caterpillar is finally ready for the big day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It weaves a ball of silk on a branch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, it hooks onto it – with its backside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And lets go.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Look through its skin. There’s something wiggling in there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The caterpillar pumps and pushes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Until …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>it splits open …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>shedding all traces of its youth …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>including its face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The outer skin hardens into the chrysalis that protects the pupa inside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its stomach shrinks. It’s giving up its gluttonous ways.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the butterfly emerges days later, it uncurls its brand new proboscis – two pieces called galeae that have to be zipped together into a single straw before the butterfly can use it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it lets those glorious wings unfold. They’ll take it to find mates and a juicy new plant to lay its eggs on, using that stored up protein.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This complete metamorphosis is called holometaboly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Multiple lives in a single life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It takes a lot of work. And butterflies only live a few weeks. But this strategy is not as rare as you might think.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the animal kingdom, it’s incredibly common. Mammals like us are the weird ones. After all, our face doesn’t fall off when we grow up.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>For these four animals, extreme makeovers are just a part of life. A house fly larva needs a radical transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you. A hungry caterpillar goes on a protein bender to fuel its ultimate glow-up into a butterfly. The axolotl simply refuses to grow up, while the planarian worm has no problem growing a whole new body – and even a head – whenever it needs one.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>For these four animals, extreme makeovers are just a part of life. A house fly larva needs a radical transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you. A hungry caterpillar goes on a protein bender to fuel its ultimate glow-up into a butterfly. The axolotl simply refuses to grow up, while the planarian worm has no problem growing a whole new body – and even a head – whenever it needs one.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With an extreme makeover, looking fabulous isn’t always the goal. For these four creatures, their growing bodies take radical turns in the course of a lifetime.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With an extreme makeover, looking fabulous isn’t always the goal. For these four creatures, their growing bodies take radical turns in the course of a lifetime.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cut this flatworm in half, and you get – two flatworms!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cut this flatworm in half, and you get – two flatworms!\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even after millions of years of evolution, the axolotl’s still got its youthful glow.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Even after millions of years of evolution, the axolotl’s still got its youthful glow.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This caterpillar is super hungry for a good reason: it’s bulking up to fuel a whole new way of life.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>This caterpillar is super hungry for a good reason: it’s bulking up to fuel a whole new way of life.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But first, the common housefly has to go through a mind-blowing transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Coming of age is awkward, messy, challenging. Even for a house fly.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>See this pulsing sac on the fly’s head?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s a specialized organ that the fly uses just once … to break free from its pupal casing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Whew. What a headache!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Whew. What a headache!\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It all started a few weeks back, when mom and dad had a brief but spirited courtship.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It all started a few weeks back, when mom and dad had a brief but spirited courtship.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Which resulted in these delicate, oblong eggs. And from the eggs: maggots.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hi!\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The little squirmers dig right in wherever mom laid them!\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After chowing down for a few days, this chonker is now five times its original size.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What it wants now is privacy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over the next four days or so, the maggot’s ivory exoskeleton hardens …\u003c/p>\n",
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{
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Ughhh, I’m going to my room.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>… and darkens to a deep mahogany.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fly is now a pupa.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>See these holes? This is how it gets oxygen … and that air just happens to flow through its butt.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>See these holes? This is how it gets oxygen … and that air just happens to flow through its butt.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While things may look quiet on the outside, there’s a lot happening beneath the surface.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While things may look quiet on the outside, there’s a lot happening beneath the surface.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is a blowfly – a house fly’s cousin.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London X-rayed the pupa to reveal the transformation behind its opaque shell.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London X-rayed the pupa to reveal the transformation behind its opaque shell.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>See them go from chubby tube to a complex creature with legs and wings and big eyes?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>See them go from chubby tube to a complex creature with legs and wings and big eyes?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The once blobby maggot has totally transformed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the cozy casing that protected it now holds it captive.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s why this inflatable organ, called the ptilinum, is essential.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fly pumps it full of clear-colored insect blood called hemolymph – and pops the lid off its casing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Once the head’s out, the struggle continues.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Next come the front legs, abdomen and back legs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The process of freeing itself is called eclosion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But not everyone makes it: Some get stuck right in the middle. Forever.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But not everyone makes it: Some get stuck right in the middle. Forever.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The ones that do survive pull the ptilinum into their head.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The ones that do survive pull the ptilinum into their head.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All that remains is the ptilinal suture. It’s a scar the adult fly will carry around as a reminder of the heroic effort it made to start its life on the outside.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>All that remains is the ptilinal suture. It’s a scar the adult fly will carry around as a reminder of the heroic effort it made to start its life on the outside.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now what to do with all these new body parts?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Now what to do with all these new body parts?\u003c/p>\n"
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{
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Its wings extend from crumpled to elegant as they fill with hemolymph.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Its wings extend from crumpled to elegant as they fill with hemolymph.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This insect has now realized its full potential – to fly off into your house and drive you mad.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>This insect has now realized its full potential – to fly off into your house and drive you mad.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If you like this video, please hit the like and subscribe buttons.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>If you like this video, please hit the like and subscribe buttons.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It really helps us reach more people, and we truly appreciate your support!\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It really helps us reach more people, and we truly appreciate your support!\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Don’t judge a flatworm by its simple squirminess. This little worm may help humans learn how to grow new body parts.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Don’t judge a flatworm by its simple squirminess. This little worm may help humans learn how to grow new body parts.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This goofy little guy is called a planarian.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sure, it’s just a flatworm at the bottom of a pond.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But it has a very special superpower, one that scientists would love to harness.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To show you … well, it’s going to get a little bit “slasher movie” here.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>OK, don’t worry.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s going to be OK.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seriously. I promise. It doesn’t even hurt.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That would be curtains for most organisms.\u003c/p>\n",
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I mean, this piece here is just a chunk, with no head and no tail.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>I mean, this piece here is just a chunk, with no head and no tail.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But watch.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But watch.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>You can see under a microscope that overnight its wound heals closed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>OK, maybe we could do that – more slowly, of course.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>OK, maybe we could do that – more slowly, of course.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But then it starts to regenerate, growing new tissue. It’s that white part, called the blastema.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a week … See those tiny little spots? They’re new eyes grown from scratch.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>In a week … See those tiny little spots? They’re new eyes grown from scratch.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the planarian – can I call it that yet? – it still kind of looks like a blob.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the planarian – can I call it that yet? – it still kind of looks like a blob.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>By Day 12, it’s starting to look like a proper planarian. It’s got a head – an entirely new one.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And a new tail.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And it’s doing its regular planarian things, like, uh, pooping. That’s because one of the first things it started regrowing was a tube called the pharynx, which is how things go in and out. It sucks up food, like this beef liver that scientists are feeding it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And it’s doing its regular planarian things, like, uh, pooping. That’s because one of the first things it started regrowing was a tube called the pharynx, which is how things go in and out. It sucks up food, like this beef liver that scientists are feeding it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After three weeks, it looks totally normal. From that one planarian, you get four.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After three weeks, it looks totally normal. From that one planarian, you get four.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other animals, like this newt, can regrow a toe or a tail. But planarians are practically the only animal that can regrow a head. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Other animals, like this newt, can regrow a toe or a tail. But planarians are practically the only animal that can regrow a head. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So why can’t we do that? Well, it all comes down to powerful cells known as stem cells.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They’re the green dots here. And they make up one fifth of a planarian’s body.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They can turn into different kinds of cells and make every new body part.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We only have stem cells that act like these when we’re embryos.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Once we grow up, we pretty much lose this ability. Though doctors have been able to get us to grow back a fingertip.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But what if we could grow ourselves anew? A whole arm, or a liver?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Scientists are trying to figure out exactly how planarians do it, and maybe one day these humble flatworms could inspire new ways to heal our injuries.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This axolotl salamander just doesn’t want to grow up. They can teach us a few things about staying young, if we help them out.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The axolotl isn’t just a frilly salamander with a half-smile and a blank stare.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s named after an Aztec god, who escaped death by morphing into this amphibian shape.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s a creature that’s a bridge between worlds: the spiritual and the natural; the aquatic and the terrestrial; survival and extinction.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Like most of its salamander relatives, the axolotl begins its life as a tiny, translucent egg laid underwater. It grows into a tadpole – a larva with gills and a flattened, fin-shaped tail. In time, many salamanders shed these features, develop lungs, and crawl onto land. But the axolotl never makes the transition ashore. Even as it grows – up to a foot in length – it hangs on to its larval lifestyle.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Like most of its salamander relatives, the axolotl begins its life as a tiny, translucent egg laid underwater. It grows into a tadpole – a larva with gills and a flattened, fin-shaped tail. In time, many salamanders shed these features, develop lungs, and crawl onto land. But the axolotl never makes the transition ashore. Even as it grows – up to a foot in length – it hangs on to its larval lifestyle.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The gills are reddish-purple from the blood cells pulsing through them, pulling oxygen directly from the water. To breathe, it just flaps those gills.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But if that doesn’t work – like if there’s not enough oxygen in the water – the axolotl has a backup: fully functional lungs it can use to gulp air from the surface. These organs are evolutionary leftovers from when its ancestors lived on land. The axolotl’s lungs are a rare example of cryptic metamorphosis – when an animal matures to its next stage of development internally, but doesn’t show it on the outside.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But if that doesn’t work – like if there’s not enough oxygen in the water – the axolotl has a backup: fully functional lungs it can use to gulp air from the surface. These organs are evolutionary leftovers from when its ancestors lived on land. The axolotl’s lungs are a rare example of cryptic metamorphosis – when an animal matures to its next stage of development internally, but doesn’t show it on the outside.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite its flexibility, this magnificent vertebrate is in trouble.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since the 16th century, the axolotl’s native habitat, Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City, has been built over and polluted as this megacity grew. Now the lake is just a few canals, where the axolotls battle invasive predators, and warming waters from climate change. Here, in the remnants of their ancestral home, only a few hundred are left.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since the 16th century, the axolotl’s native habitat, Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City, has been built over and polluted as this megacity grew. Now the lake is just a few canals, where the axolotls battle invasive predators, and warming waters from climate change. Here, in the remnants of their ancestral home, only a few hundred are left.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But scattered across the globe, you’ll find thousands of them –not in the wild though. They’re in research labs. Scientists are impressed by the axolotl’s ability to rapidly regenerate damaged limbs, organs, even parts of their brain.And that’s amazing for a vertebrate – an animal with a backbone – like us. Harnessing this healing ability for humans would be a breakthrough.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But scattered across the globe, you’ll find thousands of them –not in the wild though. They’re in research labs. Scientists are impressed by the axolotl’s ability to rapidly regenerate damaged limbs, organs, even parts of their brain.And that’s amazing for a vertebrate – an animal with a backbone – like us. Harnessing this healing ability for humans would be a breakthrough.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But what does it mean if an animal is thriving, only in captivity?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What is a species without its natural habitat?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To preserve what’s left of the axolotl’s wild home, a team of biologists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico started an innovative collaboration. They work with farmers of the chinampas – the traditional floating gardens along the Xochimilco canals where the animals still live.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To preserve what’s left of the axolotl’s wild home, a team of biologists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico started an innovative collaboration. They work with farmers of the chinampas – the traditional floating gardens along the Xochimilco canals where the animals still live.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The farmers filter canal water for crops through native aquatic plants and gravel, without the use of pesticides. This protects axolotls from both pollution and invasive predators.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For many in Mexico City, axolotls have come to symbolize the connection between humans and the natural world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Humans have put axolotls and our environment in peril. But with traditional knowledge, respect, and some ingenuity, we can give these remarkable animals a chance to come back.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On a protein kick? So is this hungry caterpillar, storing up enough protein for its radical transformation – and a completely new way of life.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>On a protein kick? So is this hungry caterpillar, storing up enough protein for its radical transformation – and a completely new way of life.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, are you on a protein kick? This hungry caterpillar is storing up enough protein for a radical transformation – and a completely new way of life.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Let’s face it. Butterflies get all the glory, fluttering around with their flashy looks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But caterpillars? They’re more than just an awkward adolescent phase.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They do all the hard work, so that one day they can look like this.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As adults, butterflies really only have one job: mating. They’re basically flying reproduction machines, powered by sugar water.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Their proboscis is made for sipping nectar.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But that liquid diet doesn’t give them much of the protein they need to make eggs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So that hungry, hungry caterpillar has a big job to do. It’s not just eating for itself. It’s stockpiling the protein it will need later on to make the next generation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It starts by eating its way out of the egg.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>No leftovers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then it’s onto the main course.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These pipevine swallowtail caterpillars are chowing down on their favorite – and only – food: the pipevine.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For a monarch caterpillar, it’s all about the milkweed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In two weeks they’ll grow 20 times longer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s like a human baby growing as tall as a three-story building.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A caterpillar can’t see very well. So it uses antennae to smell for food. Not those big ones on top – those are for feeling around. It’s the tiny ones right down there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It eats and eats and eats … storing up as much protein as possible. Leaves are about one quarter protein.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After packing on the pounds for a couple of weeks, this monarch caterpillar is finally ready for the big day.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It weaves a ball of silk on a branch.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then, it hooks onto it – with its backside.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And lets go.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Look through its skin. There’s something wiggling in there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The caterpillar pumps and pushes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Until …\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>it splits open …\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>shedding all traces of its youth …\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>including its face.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The outer skin hardens into the chrysalis that protects the pupa inside.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Its stomach shrinks. It’s giving up its gluttonous ways.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When the butterfly emerges days later, it uncurls its brand new proboscis – two pieces called galeae that have to be zipped together into a single straw before the butterfly can use it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This complete metamorphosis is called holometaboly.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the animal kingdom, it’s incredibly common. Mammals like us are the weird ones. After all, our face doesn’t fall off when we grow up.\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Extreme Makeovers Aren’t Just a Human Thing | KQED",
"description": "For these four animals, extreme makeovers are just a part of life. A house fly larva needs a radical transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you. A hungry caterpillar goes on a protein bender to fuel its ultimate glow-up into a butterfly. The axolotl simply refuses to grow up, while the planarian worm has no problem growing a whole new body – and even a head – whenever it needs one. TRANSCRIPT With an extreme makeover, looking fabulous isn’t always the goal. For these four creatures, their growing bodies take radical turns in the course of a lifetime. Cut",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>For these four animals, extreme makeovers are just a part of life. A house fly larva needs a radical transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you. A hungry caterpillar goes on a protein bender to fuel its ultimate glow-up into a butterfly. The axolotl simply refuses to grow up, while the planarian worm has no problem growing a whole new body – and even a head – whenever it needs one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With an extreme makeover, looking fabulous isn’t always the goal. For these four creatures, their growing bodies take radical turns in the course of a lifetime.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cut this flatworm in half, and you get – two flatworms!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even after millions of years of evolution, the axolotl’s still got its youthful glow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This caterpillar is super hungry for a good reason: it’s bulking up to fuel a whole new way of life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But first, the common housefly has to go through a mind-blowing transformation before it’s totally ready to annoy you.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Coming of age is awkward, messy, challenging. Even for a house fly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See this pulsing sac on the fly’s head?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a specialized organ that the fly uses just once … to break free from its pupal casing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whew. What a headache!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It all started a few weeks back, when mom and dad had a brief but spirited courtship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Which resulted in these delicate, oblong eggs. And from the eggs: maggots.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hi!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The little squirmers dig right in wherever mom laid them!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After chowing down for a few days, this chonker is now five times its original size.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What it wants now is privacy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over the next four days or so, the maggot’s ivory exoskeleton hardens …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ughhh, I’m going to my room.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>… and darkens to a deep mahogany.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fly is now a pupa.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See these holes? This is how it gets oxygen … and that air just happens to flow through its butt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While things may look quiet on the outside, there’s a lot happening beneath the surface.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is a blowfly – a house fly’s cousin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London X-rayed the pupa to reveal the transformation behind its opaque shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See them go from chubby tube to a complex creature with legs and wings and big eyes?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The once blobby maggot has totally transformed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the cozy casing that protected it now holds it captive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s why this inflatable organ, called the ptilinum, is essential.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fly pumps it full of clear-colored insect blood called hemolymph – and pops the lid off its casing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once the head’s out, the struggle continues.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Next come the front legs, abdomen and back legs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The process of freeing itself is called eclosion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But not everyone makes it: Some get stuck right in the middle. Forever.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The ones that do survive pull the ptilinum into their head.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All that remains is the ptilinal suture. It’s a scar the adult fly will carry around as a reminder of the heroic effort it made to start its life on the outside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now what to do with all these new body parts?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its wings extend from crumpled to elegant as they fill with hemolymph.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This insect has now realized its full potential – to fly off into your house and drive you mad.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you like this video, please hit the like and subscribe buttons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It really helps us reach more people, and we truly appreciate your support!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Don’t judge a flatworm by its simple squirminess. This little worm may help humans learn how to grow new body parts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This goofy little guy is called a planarian.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sure, it’s just a flatworm at the bottom of a pond.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it has a very special superpower, one that scientists would love to harness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To show you … well, it’s going to get a little bit “slasher movie” here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OK, don’t worry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s going to be OK.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seriously. I promise. It doesn’t even hurt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That would be curtains for most organisms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I mean, this piece here is just a chunk, with no head and no tail.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But watch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You can see under a microscope that overnight its wound heals closed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OK, maybe we could do that – more slowly, of course.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But then it starts to regenerate, growing new tissue. It’s that white part, called the blastema.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a week … See those tiny little spots? They’re new eyes grown from scratch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the planarian – can I call it that yet? – it still kind of looks like a blob.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By Day 12, it’s starting to look like a proper planarian. It’s got a head – an entirely new one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And a new tail.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it’s doing its regular planarian things, like, uh, pooping. That’s because one of the first things it started regrowing was a tube called the pharynx, which is how things go in and out. It sucks up food, like this beef liver that scientists are feeding it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After three weeks, it looks totally normal. From that one planarian, you get four.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other animals, like this newt, can regrow a toe or a tail. But planarians are practically the only animal that can regrow a head.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So why can’t we do that? Well, it all comes down to powerful cells known as stem cells.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’re the green dots here. And they make up one fifth of a planarian’s body.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They can turn into different kinds of cells and make every new body part.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We only have stem cells that act like these when we’re embryos.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once we grow up, we pretty much lose this ability. Though doctors have been able to get us to grow back a fingertip.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what if we could grow ourselves anew? A whole arm, or a liver?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists are trying to figure out exactly how planarians do it, and maybe one day these humble flatworms could inspire new ways to heal our injuries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This axolotl salamander just doesn’t want to grow up. They can teach us a few things about staying young, if we help them out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The axolotl isn’t just a frilly salamander with a half-smile and a blank stare.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s named after an Aztec god, who escaped death by morphing into this amphibian shape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a creature that’s a bridge between worlds: the spiritual and the natural; the aquatic and the terrestrial; survival and extinction.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Like most of its salamander relatives, the axolotl begins its life as a tiny, translucent egg laid underwater. It grows into a tadpole – a larva with gills and a flattened, fin-shaped tail. In time, many salamanders shed these features, develop lungs, and crawl onto land. But the axolotl never makes the transition ashore. Even as it grows – up to a foot in length – it hangs on to its larval lifestyle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The gills are reddish-purple from the blood cells pulsing through them, pulling oxygen directly from the water. To breathe, it just flaps those gills.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But if that doesn’t work – like if there’s not enough oxygen in the water – the axolotl has a backup: fully functional lungs it can use to gulp air from the surface. These organs are evolutionary leftovers from when its ancestors lived on land. The axolotl’s lungs are a rare example of cryptic metamorphosis – when an animal matures to its next stage of development internally, but doesn’t show it on the outside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite its flexibility, this magnificent vertebrate is in trouble.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the 16th century, the axolotl’s native habitat, Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City, has been built over and polluted as this megacity grew. Now the lake is just a few canals, where the axolotls battle invasive predators, and warming waters from climate change. Here, in the remnants of their ancestral home, only a few hundred are left.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But scattered across the globe, you’ll find thousands of them –not in the wild though. They’re in research labs. Scientists are impressed by the axolotl’s ability to rapidly regenerate damaged limbs, organs, even parts of their brain.And that’s amazing for a vertebrate – an animal with a backbone – like us. Harnessing this healing ability for humans would be a breakthrough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what does it mean if an animal is thriving, only in captivity?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What is a species without its natural habitat?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To preserve what’s left of the axolotl’s wild home, a team of biologists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico started an innovative collaboration. They work with farmers of the chinampas – the traditional floating gardens along the Xochimilco canals where the animals still live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The farmers filter canal water for crops through native aquatic plants and gravel, without the use of pesticides. This protects axolotls from both pollution and invasive predators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For many in Mexico City, axolotls have come to symbolize the connection between humans and the natural world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Humans have put axolotls and our environment in peril. But with traditional knowledge, respect, and some ingenuity, we can give these remarkable animals a chance to come back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On a protein kick? So is this hungry caterpillar, storing up enough protein for its radical transformation – and a completely new way of life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, are you on a protein kick? This hungry caterpillar is storing up enough protein for a radical transformation – and a completely new way of life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Let’s face it. Butterflies get all the glory, fluttering around with their flashy looks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But caterpillars? They’re more than just an awkward adolescent phase.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They do all the hard work, so that one day they can look like this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As adults, butterflies really only have one job: mating. They’re basically flying reproduction machines, powered by sugar water.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their proboscis is made for sipping nectar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But that liquid diet doesn’t give them much of the protein they need to make eggs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So that hungry, hungry caterpillar has a big job to do. It’s not just eating for itself. It’s stockpiling the protein it will need later on to make the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It starts by eating its way out of the egg.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No leftovers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then it’s onto the main course.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These pipevine swallowtail caterpillars are chowing down on their favorite – and only – food: the pipevine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For a monarch caterpillar, it’s all about the milkweed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In two weeks they’ll grow 20 times longer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s like a human baby growing as tall as a three-story building.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A caterpillar can’t see very well. So it uses antennae to smell for food. Not those big ones on top – those are for feeling around. It’s the tiny ones right down there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It eats and eats and eats … storing up as much protein as possible. Leaves are about one quarter protein.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After packing on the pounds for a couple of weeks, this monarch caterpillar is finally ready for the big day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It weaves a ball of silk on a branch.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, it hooks onto it – with its backside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And lets go.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Look through its skin. There’s something wiggling in there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The caterpillar pumps and pushes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Until …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>it splits open …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>shedding all traces of its youth …\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>including its face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The outer skin hardens into the chrysalis that protects the pupa inside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its stomach shrinks. It’s giving up its gluttonous ways.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When the butterfly emerges days later, it uncurls its brand new proboscis – two pieces called galeae that have to be zipped together into a single straw before the butterfly can use it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it lets those glorious wings unfold. They’ll take it to find mates and a juicy new plant to lay its eggs on, using that stored up protein.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This complete metamorphosis is called holometaboly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Multiple lives in a single life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It takes a lot of work. And butterflies only live a few weeks. But this strategy is not as rare as you might think.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the animal kingdom, it’s incredibly common. Mammals like us are the weird ones. After all, our face doesn’t fall off when we grow up.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/KT3vyVBacSA\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meet four animals that have mastered the art of chemical defense and offense. Sneak up on a bombardier beetle and it will shoot boiling acid from its behind. Cone snails will inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole, while the reclusive vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it. The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting powerful enough to send humans to the hospital, but it doesn’t seem to bother the tiny southern grasshopper mouse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lookout! Duck! Run for cover! These four wild creatures use chemical weapons for offense and defense.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mysterious vinegaroon sprays a vinegary blast into the face of hungry predators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion is powerful – but this cute mouse is basically immune to it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attackers beware of the Bombardier beetle’s explosive backside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, cone snails use a hidden harpoon to inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cone snails are striking, in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They lurk in the sand around coral reefs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And wait til you see what’s under the hood.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That pretty veneer is hiding an impressive array of tools and weapons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A cone snail’s breathing tube, called a siphon, is actually more like a sheet of muscle rolled into a snorkel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Besides drawing water to gills deep in its shell, the siphon also can pick up the scent of unsuspecting prey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s when the cone snail goes spearfishing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its extendible proboscis is packing a concealed weapon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A tiny, hollow harpoon made of chitin, the same tough stuff in a lobster shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the end of the proboscis is tricked out with receptors – taste buds that help it close in on its target.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When it strikes, the snail’s pace jumps to light speed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The embedded harpoon doubles as a hypodermic needle to inject the victim with paralyzing venom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it reels in the catch, the cone snail uses another covert tool called a rostrum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It opens up to swallow the fish whole.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some cone snails hunt more familiar prey. Other snails.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The smaller snail digs down to hide its shell opening.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The predator looks for a way in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When it finds it, the hunter hits its prey with more than one shot of venom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A lot is going on in the fifth of a second before the snail fires that harpoon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So let’s rewind and break it down.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First the proboscis flexes as the muscles inside prepare for the strike. Then the venom floods into the proboscis, but stops just short of the harpoon. A round muscle holds the lethal fluid in check, like a kink in a hose, building even more pressure.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, everything blows, and propels the venom into the harpoon, the harpoon into the prey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What has scientists interested in cone snails is that their venom varies not only from species to species but also from individual to individual, and even from shot to shot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In fact they seem to mix their venom cocktail on the fly from thousands of unique ingredients, each with its own purpose.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All this variety means a world of new drugs could lie under that shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Novel ways to treat things like chronic pain, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most cone snail strikes hurt as much as a bee sting. A few can kill you though, like this geography cone, it has the most venomous sting in the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here’s a tip: Don’t go gathering these shells when you’re snorkeling in Australia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you love learning about wildlife, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It’s free! Link in the description.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How about a little defense? The reclusive and well-armoured vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Late at night, after a rain in Arizona’s high desert, a dark shape creeps out from its underground lair. It’s as big as your palm, and it’s hungry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if it feels bothered…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OK what just happened? And seriously, what is this thing?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A mutant land lobster?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I mean, it’s got claws like a scorpion…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mouth of a spider?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Antennae-like things coming out of its armpits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A long, skinny tail like a rat?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This surprising combo of monster body parts is a vinegaroon, also known as a whip scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s in a group of animals called arachnids, that includes scorpions and spiders.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it doesn’t sting like a scorpion, or hunt with a web like many spiders.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A vinegaroon has its very own style.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This tail may look dangerous, but it’s actually a finely-tuned sensor. It picks up vibrations and chemicals in the air, in this case, to stalk its prey\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Up front, those antennae-looking things are actually specialized legs. They help the vinegaroon feel its way around.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s basically blind. So it relies on touch and smell to close in on its meal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It will break through this cricket’s tough exoskeleton with its claws and bristly mouth.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The vinegaroon also uses these wicked claws to excavate its burrow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Adults and their young use the burrows for protection from predators, and to stay out of the scorching desert sun. Vinegaroons and their ancestors have survived this way for hundreds of millions of years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, what does it need that spray for? Researchers observe it by gently holding the animal with forceps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite those frightening looks, this surprising spritz is actually its strongest defense against anything that wants to eat them – like skunks, raccoons or coyotes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even with poor eyesight, the vinegaroon sprays with incredible accuracy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Inside, two pygidial glands, also known as “stink glands,” hold the foul fluid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The base of the tail is extremely flexible, and can aim the blast in any direction.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Touché, skunk!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The instant it sprays, the gland openings appear as two retractable nozzles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An adult vinegaroon can shoot up to five times before it needs to let its stink glands fill up again. The spray reeks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s because the solution is mostly acetic acid, the same stuff in the vinegar in your salad dressing, except this cocktail is 16 times stronger. A blast of that to the face of a larger predator is like pepper spray.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the vinegaroon’s signature defense is unlikely to do any lasting damage, it will certainly leave a lasting impression.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting potent enough to send humans to the hospital, so why isn’t this fuzzy mouse afraid of that venom?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s an arms race underway in the Sonoran desert: mouse versus scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Locked in a battle of one-upmanship, each animal evolving better, stronger chemical defenses against the other.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Consider the Arizona bark scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its tail contains the most powerful venom of any scorpion in the United States, delivering white hot electrical pain.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This sting sends hundreds of people to the hospital each year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That venom isn’t just potent – it’s sophisticated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers at The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco are studying how this venom has become increasingly complex over time to deal with the threats scorpions face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They milk the scorpion. They use a piece of wax paper to coax it into stinging.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That droplet contains a complex brew of chemicals, including neurotoxins that quickly paralyze prey, like this cricket….\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But venom also serves as a powerful] defense… against being eaten…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s… where the mouse comes in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Do not be fooled by its cuteness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The southern grasshopper mouse is a ferocious hunter, which is rare among mice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it’s got a taste for scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Which would seem like a death wish. But it isn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists at Michigan State University are studying how the battle unfolds – not just physically, but at a chemical level.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This mouse is on the attack.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the scorpion is not having it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See how it keeps stinging the mouse?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For any other animal – including you or me – this would hurt. Badly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And for a second, with the grasshopper mouse, it does.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See how it’s rubbing its face?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But after a brief moment of pain, its nerves go numb.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most animals its size would be dead by now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the grasshopper mouse has evolved a specific defense against scorpion venom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A protein built into the mouse’s nerve cells – binds to the toxin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It blocks it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead of causing pain and paralysis, the toxin does the opposite.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It acts like a painkiller – an analgesic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the first couple stings, the mouse barely feels anything.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bad news for the scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers think this trick could point the way to more precise pain medications for people, with fewer side effects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once upon a time, the scorpion’s venom was enough to protect it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But today – in this desert arms race – the mouse has the upper paw.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least for now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Next up: get too close and the back end of this beetle will literally explode in your face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bombardier beetle is one of nature’s most improbable creatures.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For some, it throws a monkey wrench into the whole idea of evolution.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This beetle is a walking powder keg.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That cloud you see is the result of a lightning fast chemical reaction inside his body.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When attacked, the beetle sets off the explosion, releasing a boiling hot, stinging poison that sends his enemies running.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He can even aim it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This potent mixture inside the beetle is made up of three main ingredients.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mix the first two of them together and nothing happens – but throw in the third, and boom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So the beetle has a trick – he keeps these ingredients separate inside his body.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>From an evolutionary standpoint that’s what’s interesting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In fact, people have been scratching their heads over this for decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How did this complex system evolve over time?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wouldn’t earlier generations of beetles have blown themselves up, like a bunch of amateur bomb-makers?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To some, this beetle’s very survival is proof that the whole theory of evolution is wrong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it turns out there is a way this system could have evolved gradually.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Remember that third ingredient?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s an enzyme. It’s like a spark. It sets the explosion in motion. and enzymes…evolve.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At first, maybe this one wasn’t so dangerous. But gradually, it became more potent, more specialized, more explosive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the beetle’s body changed to contain it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists at UC Berkeley are trying to figure out how this system came together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They think one of those explosive chemicals evolved from the same raw materials as the beetle’s shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca>\u003c/a>That happens a lot in evolution. It’s called “exaptation.” one body part repurposed for something else.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The improbable bombardier beetle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Living proof that what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meet four animals that have mastered the art of chemical defense and offense. Sneak up on a bombardier beetle and it will shoot boiling acid from its behind. Cone snails will inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole, while the reclusive vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it. The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting powerful enough to send humans to the hospital, but it doesn’t seem to bother the tiny southern grasshopper mouse.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meet four animals that have mastered the art of chemical defense and offense. Sneak up on a bombardier beetle and it will shoot boiling acid from its behind. Cone snails will inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole, while the reclusive vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it. The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting powerful enough to send humans to the hospital, but it doesn’t seem to bother the tiny southern grasshopper mouse.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lookout! Duck! Run for cover! These four wild creatures use chemical weapons for offense and defense.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lookout! Duck! Run for cover! These four wild creatures use chemical weapons for offense and defense.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mysterious vinegaroon sprays a vinegary blast into the face of hungry predators.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The mysterious vinegaroon sprays a vinegary blast into the face of hungry predators.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion is powerful – but this cute mouse is basically immune to it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion is powerful – but this cute mouse is basically immune to it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Attackers beware of the Bombardier beetle’s explosive backside.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Attackers beware of the Bombardier beetle’s explosive backside.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>First, cone snails use a hidden harpoon to inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>First, cone snails use a hidden harpoon to inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cone snails are striking, in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cone snails are striking, in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They lurk in the sand around coral reefs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They lurk in the sand around coral reefs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And wait til you see what’s under the hood.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And wait til you see what’s under the hood.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That pretty veneer is hiding an impressive array of tools and weapons.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That pretty veneer is hiding an impressive array of tools and weapons.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A cone snail’s breathing tube, called a siphon, is actually more like a sheet of muscle rolled into a snorkel.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A cone snail’s breathing tube, called a siphon, is actually more like a sheet of muscle rolled into a snorkel.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Besides drawing water to gills deep in its shell, the siphon also can pick up the scent of unsuspecting prey.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Besides drawing water to gills deep in its shell, the siphon also can pick up the scent of unsuspecting prey.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s when the cone snail goes spearfishing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That’s when the cone snail goes spearfishing.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Its extendible proboscis is packing a concealed weapon.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A tiny, hollow harpoon made of chitin, the same tough stuff in a lobster shell.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And the end of the proboscis is tricked out with receptors – taste buds that help it close in on its target.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And the end of the proboscis is tricked out with receptors – taste buds that help it close in on its target.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When it strikes, the snail’s pace jumps to light speed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When it strikes, the snail’s pace jumps to light speed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The embedded harpoon doubles as a hypodermic needle to inject the victim with paralyzing venom.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As it reels in the catch, the cone snail uses another covert tool called a rostrum.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It opens up to swallow the fish whole.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some cone snails hunt more familiar prey. Other snails.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some cone snails hunt more familiar prey. Other snails.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The smaller snail digs down to hide its shell opening.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The predator looks for a way in.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When it finds it, the hunter hits its prey with more than one shot of venom.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A lot is going on in the fifth of a second before the snail fires that harpoon.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So let’s rewind and break it down.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So let’s rewind and break it down.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>First the proboscis flexes as the muscles inside prepare for the strike. Then the venom floods into the proboscis, but stops just short of the harpoon. A round muscle holds the lethal fluid in check, like a kink in a hose, building even more pressure.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>First the proboscis flexes as the muscles inside prepare for the strike. Then the venom floods into the proboscis, but stops just short of the harpoon. A round muscle holds the lethal fluid in check, like a kink in a hose, building even more pressure.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then, everything blows, and propels the venom into the harpoon, the harpoon into the prey.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Then, everything blows, and propels the venom into the harpoon, the harpoon into the prey.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What has scientists interested in cone snails is that their venom varies not only from species to species but also from individual to individual, and even from shot to shot.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>What has scientists interested in cone snails is that their venom varies not only from species to species but also from individual to individual, and even from shot to shot.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In fact they seem to mix their venom cocktail on the fly from thousands of unique ingredients, each with its own purpose.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>In fact they seem to mix their venom cocktail on the fly from thousands of unique ingredients, each with its own purpose.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All this variety means a world of new drugs could lie under that shell.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>All this variety means a world of new drugs could lie under that shell.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
"dropCap": false
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Novel ways to treat things like chronic pain, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Novel ways to treat things like chronic pain, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most cone snail strikes hurt as much as a bee sting. A few can kill you though, like this geography cone, it has the most venomous sting in the world.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Most cone snail strikes hurt as much as a bee sting. A few can kill you though, like this geography cone, it has the most venomous sting in the world.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here’s a tip: Don’t go gathering these shells when you’re snorkeling in Australia.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Here’s a tip: Don’t go gathering these shells when you’re snorkeling in Australia.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If you love learning about wildlife, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It’s free! Link in the description.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>If you love learning about wildlife, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It’s free! Link in the description.\u003c/p>\n"
],
"innerBlocks": []
},
{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>How about a little defense? The reclusive and well-armoured vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>How about a little defense? The reclusive and well-armoured vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Late at night, after a rain in Arizona’s high desert, a dark shape creeps out from its underground lair. It’s as big as your palm, and it’s hungry.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Late at night, after a rain in Arizona’s high desert, a dark shape creeps out from its underground lair. It’s as big as your palm, and it’s hungry.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And if it feels bothered…\u003c/p>\n",
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>OK what just happened? And seriously, what is this thing?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>OK what just happened? And seriously, what is this thing?\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A mutant land lobster?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A mutant land lobster?\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I mean, it’s got claws like a scorpion…\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>I mean, it’s got claws like a scorpion…\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The mouth of a spider?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The mouth of a spider?\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Antennae-like things coming out of its armpits.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Antennae-like things coming out of its armpits.\u003c/p>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A long, skinny tail like a rat?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>A long, skinny tail like a rat?\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This surprising combo of monster body parts is a vinegaroon, also known as a whip scorpion.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>This surprising combo of monster body parts is a vinegaroon, also known as a whip scorpion.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s in a group of animals called arachnids, that includes scorpions and spiders.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It’s in a group of animals called arachnids, that includes scorpions and spiders.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But it doesn’t sting like a scorpion, or hunt with a web like many spiders.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A vinegaroon has its very own style.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A vinegaroon has its very own style.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This tail may look dangerous, but it’s actually a finely-tuned sensor. It picks up vibrations and chemicals in the air, in this case, to stalk its prey\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>This tail may look dangerous, but it’s actually a finely-tuned sensor. It picks up vibrations and chemicals in the air, in this case, to stalk its prey\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Up front, those antennae-looking things are actually specialized legs. They help the vinegaroon feel its way around.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Up front, those antennae-looking things are actually specialized legs. They help the vinegaroon feel its way around.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s basically blind. So it relies on touch and smell to close in on its meal.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It’s basically blind. So it relies on touch and smell to close in on its meal.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It will break through this cricket’s tough exoskeleton with its claws and bristly mouth.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>It will break through this cricket’s tough exoskeleton with its claws and bristly mouth.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The vinegaroon also uses these wicked claws to excavate its burrow.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The vinegaroon also uses these wicked claws to excavate its burrow.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Adults and their young use the burrows for protection from predators, and to stay out of the scorching desert sun. Vinegaroons and their ancestors have survived this way for hundreds of millions of years.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Adults and their young use the burrows for protection from predators, and to stay out of the scorching desert sun. Vinegaroons and their ancestors have survived this way for hundreds of millions of years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, what does it need that spray for? Researchers observe it by gently holding the animal with forceps.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>So, what does it need that spray for? Researchers observe it by gently holding the animal with forceps.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite those frightening looks, this surprising spritz is actually its strongest defense against anything that wants to eat them – like skunks, raccoons or coyotes.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Despite those frightening looks, this surprising spritz is actually its strongest defense against anything that wants to eat them – like skunks, raccoons or coyotes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even with poor eyesight, the vinegaroon sprays with incredible accuracy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Even with poor eyesight, the vinegaroon sprays with incredible accuracy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Inside, two pygidial glands, also known as “stink glands,” hold the foul fluid.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Inside, two pygidial glands, also known as “stink glands,” hold the foul fluid.\u003c/p>\n"
],
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The base of the tail is extremely flexible, and can aim the blast in any direction.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The base of the tail is extremely flexible, and can aim the blast in any direction.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Touché, skunk!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Touché, skunk!\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The instant it sprays, the gland openings appear as two retractable nozzles.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The instant it sprays, the gland openings appear as two retractable nozzles.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An adult vinegaroon can shoot up to five times before it needs to let its stink glands fill up again. The spray reeks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>An adult vinegaroon can shoot up to five times before it needs to let its stink glands fill up again. The spray reeks.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s because the solution is mostly acetic acid, the same stuff in the vinegar in your salad dressing, except this cocktail is 16 times stronger. A blast of that to the face of a larger predator is like pepper spray.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That’s because the solution is mostly acetic acid, the same stuff in the vinegar in your salad dressing, except this cocktail is 16 times stronger. A blast of that to the face of a larger predator is like pepper spray.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the vinegaroon’s signature defense is unlikely to do any lasting damage, it will certainly leave a lasting impression.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>While the vinegaroon’s signature defense is unlikely to do any lasting damage, it will certainly leave a lasting impression.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting potent enough to send humans to the hospital, so why isn’t this fuzzy mouse afraid of that venom?\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting potent enough to send humans to the hospital, so why isn’t this fuzzy mouse afraid of that venom?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s an arms race underway in the Sonoran desert: mouse versus scorpion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There’s an arms race underway in the Sonoran desert: mouse versus scorpion.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Locked in a battle of one-upmanship, each animal evolving better, stronger chemical defenses against the other.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Locked in a battle of one-upmanship, each animal evolving better, stronger chemical defenses against the other.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Consider the Arizona bark scorpion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Consider the Arizona bark scorpion.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Its tail contains the most powerful venom of any scorpion in the United States, delivering white hot electrical pain.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Its tail contains the most powerful venom of any scorpion in the United States, delivering white hot electrical pain.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This sting sends hundreds of people to the hospital each year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This sting sends hundreds of people to the hospital each year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That venom isn’t just potent – it’s sophisticated.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That venom isn’t just potent – it’s sophisticated.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Researchers at The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco are studying how this venom has become increasingly complex over time to deal with the threats scorpions face.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Researchers at The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco are studying how this venom has become increasingly complex over time to deal with the threats scorpions face.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They milk the scorpion. They use a piece of wax paper to coax it into stinging.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They milk the scorpion. They use a piece of wax paper to coax it into stinging.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That droplet contains a complex brew of chemicals, including neurotoxins that quickly paralyze prey, like this cricket….\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That droplet contains a complex brew of chemicals, including neurotoxins that quickly paralyze prey, like this cricket….\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But venom also serves as a powerful] defense… against being eaten…\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s… where the mouse comes in.\u003c/p>\n",
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Do not be fooled by its cuteness.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Do not be fooled by its cuteness.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The southern grasshopper mouse is a ferocious hunter, which is rare among mice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The southern grasshopper mouse is a ferocious hunter, which is rare among mice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And it’s got a taste for scorpion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Which would seem like a death wish. But it isn’t.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Which would seem like a death wish. But it isn’t.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Scientists at Michigan State University are studying how the battle unfolds – not just physically, but at a chemical level.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Scientists at Michigan State University are studying how the battle unfolds – not just physically, but at a chemical level.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This mouse is on the attack.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the scorpion is not having it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>See how it keeps stinging the mouse?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>See how it keeps stinging the mouse?\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For any other animal – including you or me – this would hurt. Badly.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For any other animal – including you or me – this would hurt. Badly.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And for a second, with the grasshopper mouse, it does.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And for a second, with the grasshopper mouse, it does.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>See how it’s rubbing its face?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But after a brief moment of pain, its nerves go numb.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most animals its size would be dead by now.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A protein built into the mouse’s nerve cells – binds to the toxin.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead of causing pain and paralysis, the toxin does the opposite.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It acts like a painkiller – an analgesic.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After the first couple stings, the mouse barely feels anything.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Researchers think this trick could point the way to more precise pain medications for people, with fewer side effects.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But today – in this desert arms race – the mouse has the upper paw.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Next up: get too close and the back end of this beetle will literally explode in your face.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The bombardier beetle is one of nature’s most improbable creatures.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This beetle is a walking powder keg.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That cloud you see is the result of a lightning fast chemical reaction inside his body.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When attacked, the beetle sets off the explosion, releasing a boiling hot, stinging poison that sends his enemies running.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This potent mixture inside the beetle is made up of three main ingredients.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mix the first two of them together and nothing happens – but throw in the third, and boom.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So the beetle has a trick – he keeps these ingredients separate inside his body.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>From an evolutionary standpoint that’s what’s interesting.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In fact, people have been scratching their heads over this for decades.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wouldn’t earlier generations of beetles have blown themselves up, like a bunch of amateur bomb-makers?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But it turns out there is a way this system could have evolved gradually.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Remember that third ingredient?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s an enzyme. It’s like a spark. It sets the explosion in motion. and enzymes…evolve.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the beetle’s body changed to contain it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They think one of those explosive chemicals evolved from the same raw materials as the beetle’s shell.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca>\u003c/a>That happens a lot in evolution. It’s called “exaptation.” one body part repurposed for something else.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/KT3vyVBacSA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/KT3vyVBacSA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meet four animals that have mastered the art of chemical defense and offense. Sneak up on a bombardier beetle and it will shoot boiling acid from its behind. Cone snails will inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole, while the reclusive vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it. The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting powerful enough to send humans to the hospital, but it doesn’t seem to bother the tiny southern grasshopper mouse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lookout! Duck! Run for cover! These four wild creatures use chemical weapons for offense and defense.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mysterious vinegaroon sprays a vinegary blast into the face of hungry predators.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion is powerful – but this cute mouse is basically immune to it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attackers beware of the Bombardier beetle’s explosive backside.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, cone snails use a hidden harpoon to inject a fish with venom and swallow it whole.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cone snails are striking, in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They lurk in the sand around coral reefs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And wait til you see what’s under the hood.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That pretty veneer is hiding an impressive array of tools and weapons.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A cone snail’s breathing tube, called a siphon, is actually more like a sheet of muscle rolled into a snorkel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Besides drawing water to gills deep in its shell, the siphon also can pick up the scent of unsuspecting prey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s when the cone snail goes spearfishing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its extendible proboscis is packing a concealed weapon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A tiny, hollow harpoon made of chitin, the same tough stuff in a lobster shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And the end of the proboscis is tricked out with receptors – taste buds that help it close in on its target.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When it strikes, the snail’s pace jumps to light speed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The embedded harpoon doubles as a hypodermic needle to inject the victim with paralyzing venom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As it reels in the catch, the cone snail uses another covert tool called a rostrum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It opens up to swallow the fish whole.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some cone snails hunt more familiar prey. Other snails.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The smaller snail digs down to hide its shell opening.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The predator looks for a way in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When it finds it, the hunter hits its prey with more than one shot of venom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A lot is going on in the fifth of a second before the snail fires that harpoon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So let’s rewind and break it down.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First the proboscis flexes as the muscles inside prepare for the strike. Then the venom floods into the proboscis, but stops just short of the harpoon. A round muscle holds the lethal fluid in check, like a kink in a hose, building even more pressure.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, everything blows, and propels the venom into the harpoon, the harpoon into the prey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What has scientists interested in cone snails is that their venom varies not only from species to species but also from individual to individual, and even from shot to shot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In fact they seem to mix their venom cocktail on the fly from thousands of unique ingredients, each with its own purpose.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All this variety means a world of new drugs could lie under that shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Novel ways to treat things like chronic pain, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most cone snail strikes hurt as much as a bee sting. A few can kill you though, like this geography cone, it has the most venomous sting in the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here’s a tip: Don’t go gathering these shells when you’re snorkeling in Australia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you love learning about wildlife, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It’s free! Link in the description.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How about a little defense? The reclusive and well-armoured vinegaroon has a stinky surprise for anyone who messes with it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Late at night, after a rain in Arizona’s high desert, a dark shape creeps out from its underground lair. It’s as big as your palm, and it’s hungry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if it feels bothered…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OK what just happened? And seriously, what is this thing?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A mutant land lobster?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I mean, it’s got claws like a scorpion…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The mouth of a spider?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Antennae-like things coming out of its armpits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A long, skinny tail like a rat?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This surprising combo of monster body parts is a vinegaroon, also known as a whip scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s in a group of animals called arachnids, that includes scorpions and spiders.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it doesn’t sting like a scorpion, or hunt with a web like many spiders.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A vinegaroon has its very own style.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This tail may look dangerous, but it’s actually a finely-tuned sensor. It picks up vibrations and chemicals in the air, in this case, to stalk its prey\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Up front, those antennae-looking things are actually specialized legs. They help the vinegaroon feel its way around.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s basically blind. So it relies on touch and smell to close in on its meal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It will break through this cricket’s tough exoskeleton with its claws and bristly mouth.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The vinegaroon also uses these wicked claws to excavate its burrow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Adults and their young use the burrows for protection from predators, and to stay out of the scorching desert sun. Vinegaroons and their ancestors have survived this way for hundreds of millions of years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, what does it need that spray for? Researchers observe it by gently holding the animal with forceps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite those frightening looks, this surprising spritz is actually its strongest defense against anything that wants to eat them – like skunks, raccoons or coyotes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even with poor eyesight, the vinegaroon sprays with incredible accuracy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Inside, two pygidial glands, also known as “stink glands,” hold the foul fluid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The base of the tail is extremely flexible, and can aim the blast in any direction.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Touché, skunk!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The instant it sprays, the gland openings appear as two retractable nozzles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An adult vinegaroon can shoot up to five times before it needs to let its stink glands fill up again. The spray reeks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s because the solution is mostly acetic acid, the same stuff in the vinegar in your salad dressing, except this cocktail is 16 times stronger. A blast of that to the face of a larger predator is like pepper spray.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the vinegaroon’s signature defense is unlikely to do any lasting damage, it will certainly leave a lasting impression.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Arizona bark scorpion has a sting potent enough to send humans to the hospital, so why isn’t this fuzzy mouse afraid of that venom?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s an arms race underway in the Sonoran desert: mouse versus scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Locked in a battle of one-upmanship, each animal evolving better, stronger chemical defenses against the other.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Consider the Arizona bark scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Its tail contains the most powerful venom of any scorpion in the United States, delivering white hot electrical pain.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This sting sends hundreds of people to the hospital each year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That venom isn’t just potent – it’s sophisticated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers at The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco are studying how this venom has become increasingly complex over time to deal with the threats scorpions face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They milk the scorpion. They use a piece of wax paper to coax it into stinging.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That droplet contains a complex brew of chemicals, including neurotoxins that quickly paralyze prey, like this cricket….\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But venom also serves as a powerful] defense… against being eaten…\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s… where the mouse comes in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Do not be fooled by its cuteness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The southern grasshopper mouse is a ferocious hunter, which is rare among mice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And it’s got a taste for scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Which would seem like a death wish. But it isn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists at Michigan State University are studying how the battle unfolds – not just physically, but at a chemical level.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This mouse is on the attack.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the scorpion is not having it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See how it keeps stinging the mouse?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For any other animal – including you or me – this would hurt. Badly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And for a second, with the grasshopper mouse, it does.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>See how it’s rubbing its face?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But after a brief moment of pain, its nerves go numb.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most animals its size would be dead by now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the grasshopper mouse has evolved a specific defense against scorpion venom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A protein built into the mouse’s nerve cells – binds to the toxin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It blocks it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead of causing pain and paralysis, the toxin does the opposite.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It acts like a painkiller – an analgesic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the first couple stings, the mouse barely feels anything.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bad news for the scorpion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers think this trick could point the way to more precise pain medications for people, with fewer side effects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once upon a time, the scorpion’s venom was enough to protect it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But today – in this desert arms race – the mouse has the upper paw.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least for now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Next up: get too close and the back end of this beetle will literally explode in your face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bombardier beetle is one of nature’s most improbable creatures.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For some, it throws a monkey wrench into the whole idea of evolution.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This beetle is a walking powder keg.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That cloud you see is the result of a lightning fast chemical reaction inside his body.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When attacked, the beetle sets off the explosion, releasing a boiling hot, stinging poison that sends his enemies running.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He can even aim it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This potent mixture inside the beetle is made up of three main ingredients.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mix the first two of them together and nothing happens – but throw in the third, and boom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So the beetle has a trick – he keeps these ingredients separate inside his body.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>From an evolutionary standpoint that’s what’s interesting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In fact, people have been scratching their heads over this for decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How did this complex system evolve over time?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wouldn’t earlier generations of beetles have blown themselves up, like a bunch of amateur bomb-makers?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To some, this beetle’s very survival is proof that the whole theory of evolution is wrong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it turns out there is a way this system could have evolved gradually.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Remember that third ingredient?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s an enzyme. It’s like a spark. It sets the explosion in motion. and enzymes…evolve.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At first, maybe this one wasn’t so dangerous. But gradually, it became more potent, more specialized, more explosive.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the beetle’s body changed to contain it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists at UC Berkeley are trying to figure out how this system came together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They think one of those explosive chemicals evolved from the same raw materials as the beetle’s shell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca>\u003c/a>That happens a lot in evolution. It’s called “exaptation.” one body part repurposed for something else.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The improbable bombardier beetle.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "copycats-this-ant-is-surrounded-by-imposters",
"title": "Copycats! This Ant Is Surrounded By Imposters",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\">\u003cp class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Green tree ants are a dominant species in tropical forests stretching from India to northern Australia. Aggressive, industrious and highly territorial, most of their neighbors don’t want to mess with them. With a reputation like that, over millions of years multiple animals evolved to mimic them– some to stay safe, and others to kill. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In this tropical rainforest green tree ants are everywhere. And they bite.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A single colony can hold up to half a million ants, spreading across a dozen trees and 150 nests — all built by weaving leaves together with silk produced by larvae — their own offspring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They form living chains, to pull leaf edges together while they weave.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The canopy bustles with ants that are industrious, aggressive, and highly territorial.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what’s this slacker doing? Working hard or hardly working?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This isn’t a green tree ant at all. It’s a wannabe, a young bean bug. Pretty convincing disguise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This proboscis gives it away. It’s how they eat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ants have mandibles. They carry knives, not straws.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bean bugs spend their lives drinking the sap of this bean plant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When bean bugs grow up, they shed their disguise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So why the getup in the first place?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s an example of Batesian mimicry, when a vulnerable species like the bean bug evolves to look like a more dangerous one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A predator is likely to skip a green tree ant meal. It’s not worth the fight risk.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By looking like the green tree ant, this docile little bean bug seems like a real threat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As an adult, it’s much larger and now has wings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s another ant imposter lurking near the colony.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The abdomen of this comb-footed spider resembles the head of a green tree ant – just enough to make predators think twice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This spider isn’t just some harmless bean bug. It’s here to hunt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The comb-footed spider lays a silk trap just outside the ant nest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is an example of aggressive mimicry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Where one animal mimics another in order to eat it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But this isn’t the only spider in ant’s clothing around here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This crab spider mimics the look and behavior of green tree ants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It even waves its front legs around, kinda like the ants’ antennae.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crab spider is an ambush hunter who will wait outside the ant nest, until – gotcha!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Enter mimic number 4: these jumping spiders don’t look so much like green tree ants, but they use another type of aggressive mimicry.They smell just like them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also known as chemical mimicry – it’s a convincing enough disguise for the spider to sneak into the ant nest to steal its favorite food: green tree ant larvae.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers think that these jumping spiders live their whole lives next to the same colony.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As they feed on the larvae, they absorb pheromones, which lend the spiders a convincing green tree ant aroma.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite all the backstabbers, the wannabes, and infiltrators, green tree ants remain a dominant species from India to Papua New Guinea.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Why have so many different species evolved to look, behave, and smell like this one type of ant?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For millions of years, green tree ants have played such an important role in tropical ecosystems that their neighbors are more likely to survive by mimicking them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are masses of them, so finding a way to eat them means access to an abundant food source. They’re also formidable predators, so looking like them means staying safe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After all, mimicry is the highest form of flattery.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or trickery.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you liked this video, please consider supporting KQED, the PBS station that produces Deep Look. Donations from viewers like you allow us to continue making our award-winning series. Click the link on-screen or in the description below.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, see more green tree ant action as they battle peppermint stick insects.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In this tropical rainforest green tree ants are everywhere. And they bite.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A single colony can hold up to half a million ants, spreading across a dozen trees and 150 nests — all built by weaving leaves together with silk produced by larvae — their own offspring.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They form living chains, to pull leaf edges together while they weave.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The canopy bustles with ants that are industrious, aggressive, and highly territorial.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But what’s this slacker doing? Working hard or hardly working?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This isn’t a green tree ant at all. It’s a wannabe, a young bean bug. Pretty convincing disguise.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This proboscis gives it away. It’s how they eat.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ants have mandibles. They carry knives, not straws.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bean bugs spend their lives drinking the sap of this bean plant.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When bean bugs grow up, they shed their disguise.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So why the getup in the first place?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s an example of Batesian mimicry, when a vulnerable species like the bean bug evolves to look like a more dangerous one.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A predator is likely to skip a green tree ant meal. It’s not worth the fight risk.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As an adult, it’s much larger and now has wings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There’s another ant imposter lurking near the colony.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The abdomen of this comb-footed spider resembles the head of a green tree ant – just enough to make predators think twice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This spider isn’t just some harmless bean bug. It’s here to hunt.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The comb-footed spider lays a silk trap just outside the ant nest.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is an example of aggressive mimicry.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Enter mimic number 4: these jumping spiders don’t look so much like green tree ants, but they use another type of aggressive mimicry.They smell just like them.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Also known as chemical mimicry – it’s a convincing enough disguise for the spider to sneak into the ant nest to steal its favorite food: green tree ant larvae.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Researchers think that these jumping spiders live their whole lives next to the same colony.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are masses of them, so finding a way to eat them means access to an abundant food source. They’re also formidable predators, so looking like them means staying safe.\u003c/p>\n",
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"subhead": "Green tree ants are a dominant species in tropical forests stretching from India to northern Australia. Aggressive, industrious and highly territorial, most of their neighbors don’t want to mess with them. But that fearsome reputation has a fascinating side effect: over millions of years, multiple animals have evolved to impersonate them – some to stay safe, and others to kill.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what’s this slacker doing? Working hard or hardly working?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This isn’t a green tree ant at all. It’s a wannabe, a young bean bug. Pretty convincing disguise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This proboscis gives it away. It’s how they eat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ants have mandibles. They carry knives, not straws.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bean bugs spend their lives drinking the sap of this bean plant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When bean bugs grow up, they shed their disguise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So why the getup in the first place?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s an example of Batesian mimicry, when a vulnerable species like the bean bug evolves to look like a more dangerous one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A predator is likely to skip a green tree ant meal. It’s not worth the fight risk.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By looking like the green tree ant, this docile little bean bug seems like a real threat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As an adult, it’s much larger and now has wings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There’s another ant imposter lurking near the colony.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The abdomen of this comb-footed spider resembles the head of a green tree ant – just enough to make predators think twice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This spider isn’t just some harmless bean bug. It’s here to hunt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The comb-footed spider lays a silk trap just outside the ant nest.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is an example of aggressive mimicry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Where one animal mimics another in order to eat it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But this isn’t the only spider in ant’s clothing around here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This crab spider mimics the look and behavior of green tree ants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It even waves its front legs around, kinda like the ants’ antennae.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crab spider is an ambush hunter who will wait outside the ant nest, until – gotcha!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Enter mimic number 4: these jumping spiders don’t look so much like green tree ants, but they use another type of aggressive mimicry.They smell just like them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Also known as chemical mimicry – it’s a convincing enough disguise for the spider to sneak into the ant nest to steal its favorite food: green tree ant larvae.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers think that these jumping spiders live their whole lives next to the same colony.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As they feed on the larvae, they absorb pheromones, which lend the spiders a convincing green tree ant aroma.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite all the backstabbers, the wannabes, and infiltrators, green tree ants remain a dominant species from India to Papua New Guinea.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Why have so many different species evolved to look, behave, and smell like this one type of ant?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For millions of years, green tree ants have played such an important role in tropical ecosystems that their neighbors are more likely to survive by mimicking them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are masses of them, so finding a way to eat them means access to an abundant food source. They’re also formidable predators, so looking like them means staying safe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After all, mimicry is the highest form of flattery.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or trickery.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you liked this video, please consider supporting KQED, the PBS station that produces Deep Look. Donations from viewers like you allow us to continue making our award-winning series. Click the link on-screen or in the description below.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, see more green tree ant action as they battle peppermint stick insects.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"onourwatch": {
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
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