Tree-man by Human Papilloma Virus

February 3, 2008 at 6:38 pm | In blogging, changing, metaformation | 2 Comments
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An Indonesian fisherman who feared that he would be killed by tree-like growths covering his body

Dede, now 35, baffled medical experts when warty "roots" began growing
out of his arms and feet after he cut his knee in a teenage accident.

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The welts spread across his body unchecked and soon he was left unable to carry out everyday household tasks.

Sacked from his job and deserted by his wife, Dede has been raising his two children – now in their late teens – in poverty, resigned to the fact that local doctors had no cure for his condition.

To make ends meet he even joined a local "freak show", parading in front of a paying audience alongside victims of other peculiar diseases.

Continue reading Tree-man by Human Papilloma Virus…

ants metaformation

February 1, 2008 at 11:50 am | In ants, changing, metaformation, parasites | Leave a Comment
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antparasitet1

Parasites occasionally change the behavior or looks of their host, but a nasty tropical nematode alters both, making its ant host’s parasite-filled abdomen resemble a ripe red berry. According to UC Berkeley and Univ. of Arkansas biologists, this behavior is a strategy the nematode evolved to entice birds to eat the ant’s abdomen and
spread the parasite in their droppings.

A newly discovered parasite so dramatically transforms its host, an ant, that the ant comes to resemble a juicy red berry, ripe for picking, according to a report accepted for publication in The American Naturalist. This is the first example of fruit mimicry caused by a parasite .

Sources [1] [2] [3]

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