posted
I'd like to endorse that it is a "scratch your forehead" disgusting and not a "talk to your clergy" disgusting.
On the telecourse biology lecture, they said that most animals are thoroughly infested with symptom free vermin. If all our cells that contained our own DNA suddenly vanished, there would be a momentary "ghost" of roundworms etc. in the form of the body. ICK.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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As if Noemon didn't do a good enough job, thank you pooka for bringing my lunch back up. <=vomit smiley
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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In one part of my mind I thought "That's pretty interesting." In another part of my mind I went "Thank goodness I'm sick right now and thusly have an empty stomach." Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
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The symbiotic bacteria in the gut are another example of symptom-free parasites, only they actually benefit us. We could not digest our food without them.
Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Ana, true except that I'm fairly certain that technically, such symbionts are not considered "parasitic" due to the benefit they provide.
Posts: 1041 | Registered: Feb 2002
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If I recall correctly, parisitism is when the organism harms the host, while mutualism is when both organisms help each other. There's also some name for the one where the symbiote neither harms nor helps the host, but I don't remember what it is.
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