“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.

The hairworm is a long, thread-like parasite that sits bundled up inside the body of its host. It grows so large that it takes up most of the room inside the host’s body, waiting for the right ...

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.

In video recordings, the hairworm bursts out almost immediately from the cricket and, after thrashing around to extract itself, swims away. A hairworm finishes emerging from a cricket and swims away ...

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 ...

Jumping mantis, hidden hairworm: A praying mantis infested with a hairworm will seek out horizontally polarized light reflecting off the surface of water, leading it to its own grisly demise.

After hatching in the water, hairworm larvae parasitize aquatic insects and form a cyst in the hosts' body cavity. After the aquatic insect has grown wings, the hairworm is transported from an ...

It was observed that after 10 minutes, mantids infected with hairworm were more likely to gravitate towards the polarized light than their uninfected counterparts.

The hairworm is a long, thread-like parasite that sits bundled up inside the body of its host. It grows so large that it takes up most of the room inside the host’s body, waiting for the right ...