UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => shootin' the shit => Topic started by: (woz) on May 18, 2007, 06:22:52 pm
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Whilst on a walk in dovedale today I noticed these strange critters in a puddle in the middle of the path(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/217/503455564_6fcc977f6f.jpg?v=0)
Some were nearly a foot long, and thin as string. What are they, and how did they get there?
vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ESgHdWxxNc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ESgHdWxxNc)
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wtf - aliens!
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I initially thought it was this:
Thread remains dormant in inner-system space as a small, icy ovoid, but is reactivated by passage through the atmosphere. Heat and atmospheric friction burn off the outer shell, releasing "thread-like" strings which float down to the surface in sheets, tangles and clumps. The size of a single strand is initially comparable to a long, silver strand of yarn. However, while feeding, Thread grows visibly, being described as a "heavy hawser" rope or "wriggling sausages" about 10 cm by 3 meters in size.
A small clump of Thread can devour a fully-grown cow in moments. Feeding Thread grows rapidly, pulsing with sickly grey and green colors as it consumes. The exterior shell thickens with growth, and Thread dies from the inside out, suggesting that Thread's explosive consumption interferes with its metabolism. The shell thickens and hardens in death, while the inside undergoes an "unravelling/melting" process that leaves a foul stench. Water drowns Thread quickly, leaving a "soggy, bubbling mess".
...But obviously it can't be.
Which is kind of a shame, because if thread existed, then we might also have flame-breathing, telepathic, teleporting dragons. Small ones, of course - we'd need to genetically engineer the larger version if we were to have any chance defeating thread...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pern
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There was a sheep carcass that looked like it had exploded just downstream, and then two rabbits which had met a similar fate. No cows mind. I'm scared :(
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this might help though it is a guess.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematomorpha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematomorpha)
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That definitely sounds like them. How cool is this:
This parasite is unique in being able to influence its host's nervous system in a manner comparable to mind control. Shortly before it is ready to leave the host, the parasite causes the grasshopper host to jump into water, where the grasshopper will drown.
It was a mistake to click on the video link to watch one crawling out of a frog's mouth though :o
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I have a friend whos step-father is professed by the academic world to be the worlds foremost authority on nematodes if he can be of any service to you? He's a nice chap but one of those weird sciencey types who has cartoons plastered on his living room wall of 'in' jokes from within the field. Hilarious some of those gags I tell you!
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This video: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7085/extref/440756a-s3.mov
I watched it too :-\
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This video: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7085/extref/440756a-s3.mov
I watched it too :-\
Damn it, i just had to look didnt i...... :o Just about to eat lunch as well. Had a real need to reach into my screen and pull it out of the frogs mouth!
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:lol:
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Worms don't have teeth woz, get back to revision!
Seriously though, they sound grotesque! Yuck. I'm not watching the video, no way!