Wow, a parasite named after Barack Obama.

Sex is one of the great mysteries of evolutionary biology - why do organisms have it? It has numerous costs associated with it, including the two big ones, which are that only half the population will produce offspring in the next generation (technically really a problem more of anisogamy than sex, per se) and that successful gene combinations can be broken up via recombination. There are other costs as well. For instance, finding and wooing mates can be costly to an organism.

Nematomorphs, sometimes called hairworms, are parasites that live inside arthropods as larvae, but then exist as free-living aquatic adults. They often induce suicide in their insect hosts, by causing them to jump into water, where the worms then escape (see this previous post for another example). The adults typically seek out the opposite sex and can form "Gordian knots" of mating worms. Today's species, however, is found in larger and faster-moving waters - and in these big, complicated habitats, finding a suitable mate can be really tricky. So, today's parasite, has solved this problem through the evolution of parthenogenesis. Meet Paragordius obamai, (named after President Obama, in honor of it being discovered in Kenya, where his father was raised), a species of nematomorph that has completely given up on males. When brought into the lab, P. obamai only released female worms and nowhere inside these stringy parasites could male reproductive organs be found. Because bacterial symbionts can sometimes produce severe sex-ratio biases or even male-killing in insects and other invertebrates, the authors used pyrosequencing to look for evidence of these micro-manipulators, yet found no sequences similar to the taxa that have been observed to cause these biases in other hosts.

The authors now plan to use this new species, in comparison with a sexual congener, to test hypotheses on the evolution of and genetic mechanisms responsible for this novel parthenogenetic situation.

Source: http://dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2012/ ... bamai.html

I'm not sure what your trying to imply with this. All female is how nematodes and quite a many organisms operate, with only males produced via environmental cue. When the environment is no longer favorable for the current genotype, which is just being used over and over again with female parthenogenesis, is male offspring produced. A recombination occurs, a new genotype is found, and all female pathogenesis again takes over.

Poor little spider...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=Oi56-pZSrWo

I also don't know what you're implying with this.

But what an awful thing to be named after! This is just another example of how Americans love to hate the current president, who is a straight arrow and is doing good things, compared to the previous one, who was just plain sick, demented, and evil!

That video made me feel like those videos of punks beating up homeless people. The spider just wanted to be left alone.

There was no indication from the article the discoverer was an American. I prefer it when something is given a discriptive name. Latanizing someone's name tells me nothing about it.

If anything, the discoverer should have had it named after THEM.

Naming it after a random president is just plain stupid.

LOL wut? I really hope you're joking... Holy shit.

Obama is Bush on Steroids! Backed by Banks and corporations, Continuing (and expanding) the wars in the Middle east, Continuing (and expanding) the wars on drugs (civil liberties), Supported the Patriot act, Signed into law the NDAA, Expanded the federal Debt etc...

Not to mention the man is a cousin of Both Bush and Cheney.

His run for president and subsequent "election" wasn't an accident, it was engineered.

/rant

Sorry, but I'm not.







He is fighting the banks, who are controlled by Republicans, most of who are in Congress



He killed Osama Bin Laden, and the war is ended. Are you a complete retard?



Well, we won't have a president, at least in our lifetime, that will make maryjane legal. Well, there was Ron Paul, but he was nuttier than Squirrel Poo.



Please cite where this occurred, because I don't believe it.



...Which basically just put into writing what Bush Jr, Clinton, and Bush Sr have been doing for the past 20 years...


You're insane! He cut it down, actually. If you look at the numbers, Bush Jr. spent more money on his "war" than the last 7 presidents combined. Throw in Obama, and you've got 8 presidents who spent marginally less.

The ONLY reason you dislike Obama is because he's black. Admit it? He is for gay rights, equal rights, women's rights, African American rights, rights for children, rights for music education, rights for education in general, right to religion (or non-religion), taxing the rich instead of taxing the poor (and putting more and more people out of work, out of their homes, and on the street), etc.

He has done a damn good job at being neutral about everything, being decent, and fighting for the people instead of against the people. Mitt Romney wants the war to continue (in fact, he wants to go to war with Iran and North Korea, and god knows what would happen then), he wants to silence gay bi and transsexual rights, he is anti choice and would rather women get cancer than be treated by birth control pills and planned parenthood, his election would put more and more kids out there with no parents (banning birth control will lead to even more kids who are abused, neglected, or mistreated), he will raise the deficit we have, and if he is elected, by the end of his term we will be overtaken by China!

/end rant

If I found a parasite, I'd so give it my name.

Check out his main campaign contributors, two of the most prominent are Goldman Sachs and J.P Morgan. Why would people he's trying to destroy want him re-elected?



Ad Hominem attacks are not needed friend. As far as the wars go, He took Troops from Iraq, Shifted them to Afghanistan, then proceeded to bomb the shit out of Libya and launched raids on yemen, increasing the flames of hostility towards the U.S all while continuing to put unneeded pressure on Iran. The middle east has not gotten anymore "free", and America is no less in danger, worse than Bush. As far as Bin Laden goes... Pics or it didn't happen.



Its not about being able to smoke weed buddy, its about civil liberties and the government's prediliction to step all over them. Obama could save the country BILLIONS by ending the war on drugs, or at least pushing to end the war on drugs, but he does not. In fact the Obama whitehouse just released a report which calls for stricter workplace drug screening politices and a national zero-tollerance law. Worse than Bush.



May 25, 2011 Obama Signs Patriot act Extension into Law
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/patriot-act-extension-signed-obama-autopen_n_867851.htmll



So you're implying that a good president, instead of halting the monstrocities of the Bush family and Clintons, codifies them and makes them into law?



Completely fucking wrong. GWB added an additon $4.9 trillion during his TWO TERMS. Obama increased it that much in his first half of his term. Too busy paying for wars, TARP bailouts to help his rich fucking friends.



No, I don't like him because hes a progressive communist



And how does this help stop a country from going bankrupt and imploading in on itself?



If he just ended the wars (on terror and drugs) and stopped paying for Americas military presence in close to 100 fucking countries around the world, we wouldnt need to increase ANYONE's taxes.



In your opinion.



Don't you see that the American political process is a fucking horse and pony show? You get to choose from either side of the same coin. Mitt, Barack, Georgie porgie, they're all part of same club. They do a pretty good job of keep us (you and me) fighting eachother, so that we're too busy realizing how the system that they control does nothing but fuck everyone in the ass, HARD.

So what is your solution? Not vote for anybody?

Anyway, most of what you wrote was utter garbage. But if you believe it, so be it.

I for one, am voting for (writing in), Ron Paul. Not that thats anything close to a solution, but it would be the only moral choice for me to make given our current circumstance.

lol, facts and reasoned argument = trash.

Love it.

you lost the game as soon as you played the race card...