Moonage SpaceDream

Remember that scene from Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan where Khan places this bug in Chekov’s ear that eats its way to his brain and turns him into an automaton for Kahn?  I do.  It kind of unnerved me at the time.  That was exactly twenty-five years ago.  That entire time I thought that scene was purely fiction.

Until today. Check THIS headline out:

Arizona Teen Becomes Sixth Victim This Year of Brain-Eating Amoeba

Here’s some bits of interest:

….an amoeba, a microscopic organism called Naegleria fowleri that attacks the body through the nasal cavity, quickly eating its way to the brain…..

People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers, Beach said. In the later stages, they’ll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes.

Although not nearly as big as the bug in Star Trek, it seems to be quite more lethal.  This is a pretty nasty little animal that I can not believe I’ve never heard of before.  And, although I’m sure most people who read this blog of higher intellect are not familiar with a lot of what goes on at Lake Havasu, I can not believe more people have not been exposed to this nasty critter.  And, living where I do, I am just thankful it’s never popped up here.  ( Most likely won’t either, water tends to move around in hilly areas. )

According to that article, the best thing you can do when swimming in warm standing water is pinch your nose.  Apparently those pesky brain eating amoeba can’t function too well anywhere else in your body.

Pretty

Damn

Amazing

Technorati Tags: amoeba, Animal Kingdom, brain-eating, Checkov, Health, lake-havasu, Naegleria-fowleri, star trek, wrath-of-khan