“What we found, which was very surprising, was that both hairworm genomes were missing about 30 percent of a set of genes that are expected to be present across basically all groups of animals ...

Our world is full of bizarre and intriguing creatures. One of the strangest, though, is the hairworm, a parasitic worm known as a “mind control worm” in some circles.

Genetic analysis has revealed that horsehair worms, of the phylum Nematomorpha, took an evolutionary detour that cost them about 30% of genes found in other animals.

The hairworm lacks the genes necessary to produce cilia in its cells, typically found in all animals. Menu. Science. This Mind-Controlling Parasitic Worm Is Missing Genes Found In Nearly All Animals.

Parasitic hairworms manipulate the behavior of their hosts in what's sometimes called 'mind control.' A new study reveals another strange trait shared by different hairworm species: they're ...

Hairworms’ biological relationship to other worms is ambiguous and they comprise their own separate phylum. The scientific name of one hairworm is Gordius, named after the Gordian knot, which ...

They linked the hairworm's genetic changes to three potential mechanisms. The first mechanism is manipulating neurotransmitters like dopamine.

After analyzing and sequencing DNA samples from two hairworm species, Cunha and her colleagues found something astonishing. "Cilia are organelles, small structures at the cellular level, ...

When a parasite infects a host, it can manipulate host behavior, which may help spread the parasite to new hosts, or enable the parasite to complete its life cycle. Parasitic worms known as hairworms ...

In a world full of bizarre animals, hairworms are some of the strangest: parasitic worms that manipulate the behavior of their hosts in what’s sometimes called “mind control.” A new study in the ...

image: Two live tangled individuals of Gordionus violaceus, a freshwater hairworm, from Germany. view more Credit: Gonzalo Giribet. In a world full of bizarre animals, hairworms are some of the ...