Amazingly cool science story
I know it is probably disgusting, but for a few years during my undergraduate career, I thought I might want to go into the field of parasitology. Studying the living things inside us fascinates me. (Did you know that there are more foreign cells inside your body than human ones? It's true!)
Maybe it's because I'm almost impossible to disgust (and I mean be physically revolted). I can handle seeing blood. I can handle seeing bodies. I can handle working with untreated sewage samples (had to for a college project when I was in high school). I can even put my nose into a dog's mouth (right after he 'free-ranged' some poo from the floor) to subjectively rate the smelliness of the dog's breath (by far the WORST job I've ever had... pay wasn't even good).
When you can handle these things, dealing with tapeworms, insects, and microbes don't seem so disgusting.
Well, the amazing biological diversity of parasites wowed me again today. Who knew wasps could be so resourceful?
Maybe it's because I'm almost impossible to disgust (and I mean be physically revolted). I can handle seeing blood. I can handle seeing bodies. I can handle working with untreated sewage samples (had to for a college project when I was in high school). I can even put my nose into a dog's mouth (right after he 'free-ranged' some poo from the floor) to subjectively rate the smelliness of the dog's breath (by far the WORST job I've ever had... pay wasn't even good).
When you can handle these things, dealing with tapeworms, insects, and microbes don't seem so disgusting.
Well, the amazing biological diversity of parasites wowed me again today. Who knew wasps could be so resourceful?
posted by The Academian | 9:41 PM
4 Comments:
I for one, totally already knew that about wasps. In fact I caught that species of wasp when I worked in the desert on the insect survey. I was always paranoid about getting stung--and I think you know why.
I'm fairly sure that they only steer little zombie cockroaches into their burrows. You don't look like a cockroach to me. Too few legs, and your carapace isn't shiny enough.
You've never seen my carapace without make-up. (Ba-dum, ching!)
True enough, MS. But then again, I've never seen your carapace with makeup either. So we'll call the chitinous exoskeleton issue a wash.
Either way, the number of legs issue still supports my position, I think.
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