brainwashed
zooillogix | July 23, 2007Turns out that honey bees might not have the ideal socialist society after all. Researchers at Otago University in New Zealand have discovered that worker bees behave like drones because of a powerful, brainwashing pheromone released by the queen. The queen bee prevents aggressive behavior in the workers by releasing homovanillyl alcohol or HVA. As described by the New Zealand Herald, the HVA, released from the queen's mandibles, "blocks aversive learning, the acquisition of negative memories which would normally trigger an aggressive 'sting reflex' in the bees." Bees who don't learn to sting…
zooillogix | April 12, 2007The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is common in rats, but can only sexually reproduce inside the belly of a feline. The solution? Brainwash the rats into craving the scent of cat urine. Once infected by Toxoplasma gondii, rats who would normally have a phobia of cat urine actually seek it out, increasing their chances of getting eaten and transmitting the parasite into a feline gut.
"There are a million examples of parasites manipulating host behavior," said Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford University neuroscientist. Just see the related article "Suicide Grasshoppers Brainwashed by Parasite Worms".…