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Something is very wrong with the bees. Since 2006, the mysterious phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder has wiped out countless honeybee colonies throughout Europe and North America, and nobody knows why. But a weird parasite may hold the answer. More »
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Rat are notorious pests, with populations throughout the world living off the scraps and garbage left behind by humans. Rats, it seems, are just born to mooch off humans, since they've gone down this same evolutionary path four different times. More »
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If seed beetles aren't careful, wasps will invade their eggs and have their own young kill the beetle larvae for nutrients. But these beetles aren't taking the threat lying down - they've developed an ingenious strategy to fight back. More »
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The single-celled parasite Toxoplasma gondii lives infects rats, but it needs to be inside a cat's digestive system in order to reproduce. The parasite actually alters the brain of its rat host so that it won't be afraid of cats. More »
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No animal is more defined by what it eats than the cleaner fish. These helpful parasites are all born female, but the biggest eater becomes the dominant male...and then, as you might expect, institutes a strict diet for everyone else. More »
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About 200 million people today have schistosomiasis, a serious chronic illness caused by a parasitic infection. A big part of why the disease runs rampant today is how our ancestors practiced irrigation...and it's a mistake 1500 years in the making. More »
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There's a popular theory that bird and mammal evolution kicked into high gear after the dinosaurs went extinct. But now it turns out lice were already diversifying long before the dinosaurs died out. More »
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Cuckoos don't bother building their own nests - they just lay eggs that perfectly mimic those of other birds and take over their nests. But other birds are wising up, evolving some seriously impressive tricks to spot the cuckoo eggs. More »
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We only just learned Zack Snyder is directing the Superman reboot, and already the word is that General Zod is coming back as the villain. Seriously, we have to ask: where the hell are some new Superman villains? More »
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Parasitic worm colonies are known to invade and castrate a tiny California horn snail, spawning thousands of tiny soldiers that take up 25% of the snail's body weight. These tiny warriors could actually revolutionize how we fight infections in humans. More »
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Weaver fish off the Jersey coast have fallen prey to a horrific parasite: an isopod that devours the fish's tongue and then replaces it with itself. Fortunately, it doesn't eat human tongues, though it will bite. via Warren Ellis" /> More »
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Malaria kills over a million people a year, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa where the infected mosquito population is out of control. Now, epidemiologists are developing a radical new mechanism for vaccinating at-risk populations: through mosquito bites. More »
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Fox may have dropped the ball on bringing Guillermo del Toro's The Strain to life as a television series, but plans are afoot to bring the gonzo vampire tale to the small screen, with a showrunner intimately familiar with bloodsuckers. More »
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So you’ve gotten yourself infected with mind-controlling parasite. And now the parasite is using your body, running up your credit card debt, and trying to take over your planet. Although possession by an alien parasite often means certain death, we offer a few remedies you should attempt before you resign yourself to a life of extraterrestrial slavery. More »
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Feel that tingling on the back of your neck? That could be a killer parasite sucking on your fear. And that spooky clown at your cousin's birthday party? A creature from another dimension who thinks humans taste better when we're afraid. For some science fiction characters, fear is a five-course meal. From terror-inducing toxins to aliens who get off on dread, our list will tell you who (and what) you have to fear. More »
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If you haven't seen John Carpenter's classic The Thing, which shows you just how scary a remote Antarctic ice station can be when a parasitic alien thaws out, you should. If you have seen it, then you'll recognize this sucker designed by FX whiz Rob Bottin. Remember when Kurt Russell starts testing everyone's blood to see if they've become infected and have shapeshifted into an alien? Well, this is what pops out of the petri dish in one of those "shit your pants" screen moments, and it can be yours for the semi-outrageous opening bid of $3,499.00. Although there's no certificate of authenticity, there is a very nice glass case, which might explain the upcharge. If it were made out of diamond. [Ain't It Cool] More »
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Dead Space, a new game from Electronic Arts, brings parasitic "we want to kill you, kill you, kill you" aliens back into fashion just in time for next Halloween. In the far future, humans have depleted all of the natural resources on Earth, so private corporations begin sending out enormous ships called "Planetcrackers" that carve off enormous chunks of planets, and then mine them down to their bare essentials. Of course, as often happens in these games, this pisses off an "ancient and malevolent force" who decides to start unleashing hell. In space. More »
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