You got Worms

One of the fascinating aspects of Parasitology is the degree of morphological change a parasite must undergo to survive and grow in differing yet extreme environments like a mammalian gut or the haemocoel of the Beetle.

From something that is best discribed as a 'blob' to an ingesting,reproducing machine such as a tapeworm the genetic changes that are necessary are staggering.

So in celebration of the versatility of the humble tapeworm here's another image -this time of the blob:

Worms!

Dear reader….I have a secret!
A secret that dare not speak it’s name; people will hide there faces in shame and disgust!
I have carried this secret; the burden of which has become to great for one mere mortal to shoulder. The secret once whispered in the shadows amongst likeminded people is now being shouted out in the broad daylight among the rooftops of Blogdom…. “I Like Worms!”.
I feel better already.
When I was studying Biology the majority of my final year plus my Honours project was concentrating on Parasitology specifically the Tape worm Hymenolepis.Microstoma . This tapeworm has several hosts it quite likes a beetle host and then hopes that the beetle gets eaten by a mouse where it grows to maturity.
In my project I looked at the effect of varying different environmental conditions on the rate at which the worm eggs would ‘hatch’ out.
Here is a photo I took of the unhatched eggs with its row of hooks -used to attach to the stomach wall of its host:

What is Faith?

 Here's one of my favourite explanations of faith as given by Francis Schaeffer:

Talking on other blogs I am accused of baseing my beliefs on Blind Faith.Here Schaeffer says it better than any I have read, so here's his reply to those accusers :

'Suppose we are climbing in the Alps and are very high on the bare rock and suddenly the fog shuts down.The guide turns to us and says that the ice is forming and that there is no hope;before morning we will all freeze to death here on the shoulder of the mountain……After an hour or so,someone says to the guide,"Suppose I dropped and hit a ledge ten feet down in the fog.What would happen then?"

The guide would say that you might make it till the morning and thus live.So,with absolutely no knowledge or any reason to support his action,one of the group hangs and drops into the fog.This would be one kind of faith,a leap of faith

Suppose,however….we heard a voice that said,"You cannot see me,but I know exactly where you are from your voices.I am on another ridge.I have lived in these mountains ,man and boy for over sixty years,and I know every foot of them.I assure you that ten feet below you there is a ledge.If you hang and drop,you can make it through the night and I will get you in the morning."

I would not hang and drop at once but would ask questions to try and ascertain if the man knew what he was talking about and if he was not my enemy….Once I became convinced of his answers I would hang and drop.'

This is Faith based on our experience and the statements God gives in the Bible .Its not a blind leap.