Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
T. Gondii And The Leaders Of The Pack
An interesting study linking Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite, and wolf pack leadership has surfaced.
Article on the way... Here's a preview pic.twitter.com/zXwO2nwtby
— Bill Christensen (@Technovelgy) November 25, 2022
researchers wondered what sort of impact of T. gondii infections might have on wild wolves. To find out, they conducted an extensive study of wolves living in Yellowstone National Park.The work involved studying data from blood samples taken from over 200 wolves living in the park over the years 1995–2020, while looking for evidence of infection. The researchers also looked at the notes made by research observers to learn more about any behavior changes that might have been evident in the wolves.
The researchers found that young, infected wolves tended to leave their packs earlier than those uninfected. Infected males were 50% more likely to leave their pack as early as six months after birth. Males normally stay for up to 21 months. And infected females were 25% more likely to leave their pack at 30 months, rather than the normal 48.
The researchers also found that infected males were more than 46 times more likely to become pack leaders than uninfected males. The researchers also found that infection rates were higher in wolves that mingled with cougars. The researchers suggest the differences in behavior were likely due to the impact of the parasite on the brains of wolves, making them bolder and less likely to back down when challenged by others.
In Larry Niven's Protector (1973; short story appeared in 1967), Niven writes about the Pak. This race goes through several stages; child, breeder and Protector. The Protector stage is only reached when a mature Pak breeder encounters Tree-of-Life root; unable to resist gorging himself, the Pak infects himself with a virus that transforms him into the end stage of his race. Joints swell, skin turns leathery, strength increases and the brain grows. Don't forget the cranial ridge and beak.
Pak Protectors take on the responsibility of advancing the interests of their bloodline, using their ruthlessness, amorality and super-human strength.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/15/2022)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Biology ")
Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species
'...there was no one alive who had ever seen them. But they existed in the Life Bank.' - John Varley, 1977.
Let's Make Slaver Sunflowers! Engineering Plants To Reflect Light
'The mirror-blossom was a terrible weapon.' - Larry Niven, 1965.
Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore
'The tree ended its wild larruping, stood like a dreaming giant liable to wake into frenzy at any moment.' - Eric Frank Russell, 1943.
Tsunami Forecasts Improved By Ionosphere Signals
'Swifter than any tide could ebb, the water was receding from the shore.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said.
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.'
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?'
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
