Read this article today: 6 Die From Brain-Eating Amoeba in Lakes (http://www.physorg.com/news110255496.html)

A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.


Well, cute...
What other exotic lethal monsters are living on our planet?

Read this article today: 6 Die From Brain-Eating Amoeba in Lakes (http://www.physorg.com/news110255496.html)

A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.


Well, cute...
What other exotic lethal monsters are living on our planet?

Well, it's not exactly "alien" as you stated in your post. It's also been know to exist for a very long time, it's just that cases are VERY rare!

There are other 'similar' things that medical science is aware of like the "flesh eating bacteria." That's another that's very rare.

The title of this thread is just from my alien fick associations.

The title of this thread is just from my alien fick associations.

Gotcha!;)

the comments at the bottom are the best

How about the pork tapeworm? It’s larvae encyst in all parts of a persons body (with special emphasis on the brain) and hang out in their cysts up there, in your head. Bad things happen but if I’m not mistaken it’s easily treated. Also common in Arizona.

You gotta love your basic amoebe, although amoebe is somewhat of a can of worms, similar to the term worms. Worm is a name for all animals that resemble the 'worm' archetype. They spread throughout many different phyla and are therefore often totally unrelated.

Similarly amoebe mostly indicates a type of locomotion and lifestyle.

There is the more official grouping or amoebozoans.

They can be up to half a centimeter across!!! (anyone remember 'the blob (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blob)'?)

We don't have to go very far to look for them though. Amoebozoans our common in our gut with one species dominating; Entamoeba coli. It is the lion of our intestine. It roams our intestines looking for tasty 'wildebeests', or more accurately, Escherichia coli. It's pretty harmless though for us.

He has some family members who are not so nice. Entamoeba histolytica destroys the cell lining of the gut causing amoebic dysentery, known as Delhi belly to S.A.M. and Montezuma's Revenge to Varda.

reference:
The Ancestor's tale - a pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life, Richard Dawkins. Phoenix paperback 2005. p515.

What is its food source before it eats enters the body and feeds on brain cells?

I need to know this FAST. Pronto.

WHAT IS THE HOST. Sonofa:mad:

It probably eats cells that are not well protected (by thick skin), so basically it could be anything. Fish gills. Unicellular eukaryotes. Cell detritus

detritus

hmmmm, could be. it appears they settle to the substrate and become free floating or swimmers when the substrate is disturbed.:scratchin:

What is its food source before it eats enters the body and feeds on brain cells?

I need to know this FAST. Pronto.

WHAT IS THE HOST. Sonofa:mad:

Are you worried because you plan to do a lot of swimming in warm, Arizona water? My parasitology prof recommenced three ways to avoid this bug:

1. Don’t swim in warm standing water (hot springs, etc. esp in SW US etc.)
2. If swimming in warm water, don’t dunk your head
3. If needing to dunk your head in warm water, wear nose plug

Disclaimed: Neither I nor my prof is a doctor, if you die, don’t haunt me

Isn't there a little fishy parasite type thing that lives in the amazon and is attracted by piss? I hear when you take a pee in the river it swims up yer urethra and then explodes swelling yer najers up like hot air balloons. Ow!

Isn't there a little fishy parasite type thing that lives in the amazon and is attracted by piss? I hear when you take a pee in the river it swims up yer urethra and then explodes swelling yer najers up like hot air balloons. Ow!

The candiru fish, and it gets girls too from what I've heard

Its called the Toothpick Fish. (Nickname)

From the other forum:
The latest on the list of threatened species is the Guinea worm, or dracunculiasis. It is a parasite feasting on the smorgasbord also known as the human body.

The prestigious medical journal New England Journal of Medicine reports that this worm has almost been eradicated by introducing a longterm educational campaign.

20 years of campaigning reduced an incidence of this infection of 3,5 million to just 25,000 cases.

The larvae of this worm live in the water and enter the human body where they grow into worms that can be more than half a meter long. After a year the worms start crawling out of the skin which is apparently excruciatingly painful.

See here for a picture of the worm emerging - warning, it is not a nice picture.
http://content.nejm.org/content/vol356/issue25/images/large/01f2.jpeg

However, simple changes in behavioural patterns of humans can prevent infection and the campaign focussed on this.

And now the worm is almost gone. Since this poor thing doesn't have any other hosts it is doomed for extinction similar to smallpox.

The whole 20 year campaign was funded with merely 225 million dollars. That's about the same as the upkeep of Paris Hilton.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/25/2561

"Man in coma after mosquito bite"

An innocent man goes to the USA to do some fishing. He is bitten by a mosquito. The mosquito is carrying the the virus, known as Eastern Equine Encephalitis or Triple E.

35% of real men that fish and come into contact with it die! It is not known what the mortality rate is for sissies.

The virus roams the eastern parts of the USA mainly. It is just waiting for innocent victims and European tourists so it can destroy their lives.

Although this fisherman in question did not die (YET) he will be disabled for the rest of his natural life.

America is indeed the source of evil. And it comes in the form of a virus.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7033203.stm

Surely all of this cannot mean that life is dangerous?

Ah but death becomes us.

And I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

And Montezuma's revenge is not gastro but a pickled freckle, yes, a chillied coight, a delirious date, a puffy pooper!

And I moved upon the face of the darkness. And I saw that I was alone. Let there be light.

Much more common in manmade lakes - at least as infectious organism. The Amoeba, I mean. Apparently from the large amounts of stuff drowned and decomposing. Which includes, in the case of manmade lakes, an unusual concentration of drowned mammals.

Brain cells, other dead wood - maybe it's a specialist.

There's no official word on whether it gets its start on its new food source from human bodies - mob hits, drunken fishermen, political enemies of casino developers.

And I moved upon the face of the darkness. And I saw that I was alone. Let there be light. I know that one! It's the talking bomb from Dark Star. I don't usually get lines from movies.