Beautiful botflies, luscious leeches, and the wonder of parasites
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Who is Dr. Dino Martins and why does he study parasites?
Hey, it's Flora, and you're listening to Science Friday. Dr. Dino Martens has plucked maggots out of a dead elephant, pulled botflies out of camel snot, and let a horsefly feast on him consentingly. Why? Because he's obsessed with parasites. Dino is an entomologist who grew up in rural Kenya. He's worked all over the world to try to understand how insects keep this planet alive. And along the way, he met some of the world's most iconic freeloaders. Dino describes his journey into science and his love of parasites in his new book, Hidden Creatures, Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous History-Shaping World of Parasites. Dino, welcome to Science Friday.
Thank you so much, Flora. Delighted to be here.
I am delighted to have you. And I have to spend right off the bat a minute on those adjectives. Luscious leeches, bashful botflies.
Why does Dino want to rebrand parasites as beautiful and important?
I feel like you are doing the most to try to rebrand parasites. Why?
Absolutely. So first of all, parasites are disgusting. I accept that. And they can be deadly as well. But they are also part of the fabric of life. And I think for me, as a naturalist, as a scientist, if we're going to learn about things that are beautiful and interesting, we also have to learn about things that are disgusting and maybe even slightly sort of disturbing. Yeah.
I'm sold. I mean, what makes a parasite a parasite? Do you have, is it just you're a moocher?
You know, that's a really fantastic question because there isn't a single definition of parasites. And if we think about a parasite being something that, you know, feeds on other things, but in what units is one of the things that biologists kind of debate. And I remember E.O. Wilson saying that, you know, he really liked precise definitions and his definition was, was centered on the idea of a parasite being anything that fed on its prey in units of less than one.
How do scientists define a parasite and what are the gray areas?
What does that mean, a unit of less than one?
So if you were a cow grazing on grass, you wouldn't be a parasite, even though you're feeding on something else. But if you're a tick feeding on the cow, you are a parasite because you're feeding in units of less than one. So it's, you know, like so many of these definitions in science, the closer you look, the more complicated it becomes. And it's very easy for us to define a parasitic relationship where a parasite is taking, deriving benefits, nutrients, whatever else it's grabbing, it's mooching off others. And the host who is being targeted is paying a cost. So parasitic relationships are very easy to kind of quantify in a mathematical sense or in this kind of scientific sense. But when you actually look at nature, there's a lot of gray areas.
Are hosts always paying a cost? I mean, I'm thinking of like our evolving understanding of the microbiome and how we have, you know, bugs everywhere. deriving nutrients from us, but also doing a service. Do you think that there's a world in which we just don't understand parasites well enough yet to understand the relationship?
Absolutely. Just like the microbiome, our perception of parasites is starting to shift. Now, there's no question there are many parasites that cause a tremendous amount of suffering and have a huge impact. But the question is, we have, as you said, evolved and co-evolved with parasites, as have many other creatures in the world. And so could there be a benefit in one way or another to actually encountering parasites? And the evidence is starting to gather and the answer is yes. So just like the microbiome with all its complexity, exposure to parasites, perhaps when you're younger, for example, to certain parasites helps build and train your immune system to deal with more dangerous or deadly things it might encounter later on in life.
Parasites have all kinds of molecules and chemistry and weird genetics and extremely disturbing sex lives. And all of these...
Do you want to give us an example as long as we're here?
As long as we're here, yes. So I describe how mosquitoes actually mate in the book. I'm with my students and we see them mating and they mate in the missionary position, which is extremely entertaining for the students and not sort of what we would expect of mosquitoes.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Who is Dr. Dino Martins and why does he study parasites?
0:03–1:02
2
Why does Dino want to rebrand parasites as beautiful and important?
1:02–2:18
3
How do scientists define a parasite and what are the gray areas?
2:18–6:36
4
Could some parasites be beneficial like the microbiome?
6:36–10:55
5
How did Dino's childhood with a baby zebra shape his curiosity about parasites?
10:55–14:25
6
What is so fascinating and gruesome about botflies and their life cycle?
14:25–18:28
7
Should we try to eradicate parasites or live with them?
18:28–19:38
Speakers
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