The Bloody: Medical Leeches

While doing community service the other night I managed to "snip" (if snip is even the right word) my left index finer--good thing I'm a righty! At which point the nail began to fill up with blood internally and the finger is all swollen...and now I have a cute little semi-creepy teddy bear band-aid to cover up the atrocity so as to not gross anyone out :\ it hurts.

So here's my inspiration that deals with blood---LEECHES!

Back in the day people used to think that if you were ill for a period of time it may be because you had bad blood flowing in your veins! So people would seek "doctors" who make an incision somewhere on your arm and allow you to bleed out a little bit. The normal body knows that bleeding a lot is bad so its natural instinct is to stop bleeding...here's where leeches come in!

Leeches may be placed on such open cuts to help you bleed out....OR in today's world, during various types of surgery (plastic surgery/reconstructive surgery). The leeches act as a natural anticoagulant which will keep you bleeding--up to 48 hrs after the leech has been removed actually!. This allows for dramatic decrease in post surgery swelling and congestion and also promotes healthy blood circulation to the wounded area.

you'd think that a process like this might hurt, but the leech actually produces its own anesthetic in its saliva so its quite painless. weird.

Here's a pretty cool site that offers info, advice, and leeches for sale!!

The Deadly Manipulator: Parasitoid Wasp

Today is special. Today I walked into an anatomy lab for the sheer fascination I have with the deceased human body and general anatomy itself...and with me was one of the best people I know, who happened to be deathly disturbed/afraid of the deceased human body. My bad!!

So for this entry, I am inspired by the anatomy and weird-ness that is the parasitoid wasp. why so cool you ask??? well, first of all...not only do the various species of parasitoid wasps have the ability to "control" the mind of their future prey, they also plant their larvae inside the poor chump, thus creating a live, ticking time-bomb of sorts. Let's pick an example---Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga (OR just some specific species of wasp that is dangerous)

These wasps are creepy the adult wasps have the ability to first paralyze the spiders so that they can lay their egg on the abdomen of the spider. Then as the egg "hatches" the baby spiders suck on the spider's blood until it is ready to cacoon.

They then chemically manipulate spiders into spinning a web that the spider has never made before and sit motionlessly in the middle of the web. The larva molts and kills the spider (via poison) who sits helplessly in the middle of a foreign web it spun itself...and is sucks it dry. Afterwards the larva pupates in the cacoon and emerges an adult and finds another spide to start the whole cycle again!!

Here's the wikipedia page which holds a bit more info.

creepy little buggers eh?? kinda glad I'm human...

The Beginning: Friendships

For my first entry of 2010, I'd like to touch on friendships. There are millions of stories where predator and prey become friends, companions, and guides for each other. So why is it so hard for people? Why is there conflict and distrust? If instincts could be trusted and actually applied, we'd be golden! But of course...then we must add higher brain power, cognitive thought and free will. Which leaves humans with more choices and decisions than most animals face in a lifetime and where does it really get us?? Are we better off with this brand or that brand? with this color or that color? What have we forgotten along the way? simplicity at its best, because when we don't try or expect it, wonderful things are allowed to happen on their own. naturally.


We've seen photos of mother lions caring for piglets, deer and bunnies never leaving each others' side---take it from those who know how to trust instincts and simply give back and pay it forward.

So for 2010...when I will be at the fork of life, one of my strongest resolutions is be true and good to those who are good to me and pay it forward. Because there's not enough time to be anything else.