The extinction of parasites

This seemed like a worthwhile Halloween post... something to scare the shit out of us all. If you want to scare yourself, Google parasites in the images section. You will want to vomit. I therefore picked a photograph of parasite pancakes - some very creative person created the images of some parasites out of pancakes. (Is it real, or a picture, I don't know...)

In any event, all those unintended consequences of the things we do. But then again, I believe I heard there have been six major extinctions on the planet earth... so we'll be just one more as parasites either take over or allow other creatures to take over.

Humorous image taken from here.

Climate change could wipe out up to one-third of the Earth’s 3.5 million known parasite species over the next 53 years. That might sound like a good thing, but scientists warn that the extinction of pests such as tapeworms, fleas, and ticks could dramatically alter the delicate balance of ecosystems around the world, The New York Times reports. An international team of scientists mapped the global distribution and habitats of 457 different species of parasites and analyzed how climate change could affect them. Up to 30 percent of parasite species, they concluded, may be extinct by 2070. A mass die-off could produce many undesirable consequences: Where parasites help control their hosts’ populations, those populations could grow out of control, the way deer did when wolves left their habitats. Other parasites might flourish in the absence of competition. Still others could migrate to new ecosystems, invading new species. An example: the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus spreading north into the U.S. Colin Carlson, lead author of the study, said parasites are “a huge and important part of ecosystems,” and warned that extinctions will have consequences we can’t foresee.

Taken from the same edition of The Week as yesterday - September 29, 2017.

A Viking Wonder Woman

I have Viking DNA... well, Scandinavian.... but given that most/much of my DNA is from Great Britain, it is assumed that my Scandinavian heritage is Viking.

Therefore, I can't help but think of Otzi, the prehistoric man found in the Alps. I mean, they did a DNA test on him and found 19 living descendants of his in the area. And he lived over 5,000 years ago. The woman below is from the 10th century. Wouldn't it be fun to find her living descendants? what a hoot. (And of course I want to be one of them!)

Historical accounts of female Viking warriors are often discounted as myths. But new DNA tests of a warrior buried in Sweden more than 1,000 years ago provide the first genetic evidence that some women held powerful, high-status positions in Viking culture. The 10th-century grave site, which was uncovered in the 1880s, contained a sword, arrows, a battle knife, a spear, shields, and two horses. The Viking, who stood 5-foot-6, was also buried with a set of game pieces—an indication of the deceased’s expertise in battle tactics. The archaeologists who uncovered the grave 130 years ago assumed it belonged to a high-ranking male warrior. “I think that’s a mistake that archaeologists make quite often,” archaeologist Becky Gowland tells The Guardian. “When we do that, we’re just reproducing the past in our image.” A recent DNA analysis revealed that the Viking leader lacked a Y chromosome—confirming that “he” was actually a “she.”

We also talk about Otzi here.

This article and photograph was taken from The Week Magazine, September 29, 2017 edition.