Dylan Miller examines how parasitic wasps manipulate the hosts like caterpillars and what this behaviour might tell us about human brains.
“Parasites have had millions of years of evolution to perfect methods for targeted and absolute behaviour control. Understanding these methods could illuminate new tools for neuroscience research.”
Thus far I’ve written about a range of topics I find interesting, but my personal research is on the parasitic manipulation of behaviour. Some parasites manipulate the behaviour of their host for their own reproductive and survival benefit, often in dramatic and specific ways. How any of these can hijack the brain and nervous systems […]
While normally I write about animals and/or their brains, today I’ll be talking about something that’s neither of those: Venus flytraps. Venus flytraps are a plant native to the eastern coast of the US Carolinas. It lies at the intersection of a few peculiar plant categories, as it’s both carnivorous and capable of ‘rapid’ movement […]
This article was co-written with Dr. Shelley Adamo, professor, Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, and was originally published in the Conversation Canada on October 27, 2021. Wasps have a reputation for being jerks because of their perceived aggressiveness and ability to sting repeatedly. They’re often negatively compared with the honey production and agricultural pollination of […]
Given the macabre (some might even say evil) nature of my research topics, I’ve long said that I hope my work is never relevant to the news. That hope has been in vain, but in the best way possible. A lovely TikTok about a behaviour manipulating wasp (well, mostly about its host) recently grabbed many […]
On the possibility of an active ‘design’ behind evolution, Darwin said “I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent & omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidæ [parasitic wasps] with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars…” Wasps are insects in the same order as ants and bees, and an […]
My research interests branch into a few areas, but my main focus is on behaviour-altering parasites. These are parasites which alter their host’s behaviour in a way that benefits the parasite’s survival and reproduction, often utterly controlling their behaviour and turning them into ‘zombies’. What I’m often asked when I discuss it is about humans, […]
Bloody terrifying Anyone giving blood may notice screening questions about time spent in parts of Europe, asking about specific yet seemingly arbitrary durations during equally specific years, like three months in the UK from 1980-1996, or five years from 1980-2007, and so on. This all stems from fear of the deadly prion, which, while sounding […]
Brains abhor expending resources to maintain anything they find isn’t ‘needed’ anymore. The components of neurons (the main signalling cells in the brain) don’t last forever and require regular upkeep. Keeping every part of these cells in shape takes a lot of energy, biological materials, and space. All of this places limits on how many […]
The Hornets Recently the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) has been in the news due to some recent sightings in North America. They are also known to some as ‘murder hornets’, which is a bit much and presumes an answer as to whether hornets can even commit murder in a legal sense (manslaughter hornets perhaps?). […]
