Ok... maybe not for real reals but there are some brain eating amoebas taking over the world. Ok maybe they're not taking over the world but they really (for real this time!) have killed a few people.
According to the AP:
A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.
Even though encounters with the microscopic bug are extraordinarily rare, it's killed six boys and young men this year. The spike in cases has health officials concerned, and they are predicting more cases in the future.
Panic!!! Don't swim in lakes! You will die! Die I tell you! Die!
-via boingboing-
More like this
Scoop up some dirt, and you'll probably wind
In another case of TV shows being prescient, abuzz here at
This post is part of a celebration of the 2-year anniversary of open-access journal PLoS ONE.
Ok - I confess. There's only one reason this parasite is even remotely sci-fi worthy. Though, to be fair, it's a pretty good one: it kills you by eating your brains.
First question: Where are these located? something tells me they are not located in industrial nations.
Second question: When the article says "feeding" are the eating proteins in the brain, and if so, can they be modified to only eat b-amyloid and get rid of alzheimers?
third question: Why have I never heard of the coolest bacteria ever?