Friday, February 20, 2015

Zombie Cockroaches, Killer Fungi and Evolving Mousetraps Updated


I was thinking about the mousetrap analogy that refutes the idea of Irreducible Complexity.  If you aren't familiar with it, here it is:



One thing that always bothered me about Miller's argument is that the mousetrap he's using in his analogy didn't, in fact, evolve.  So, could it have evolved?  There are many examples of traps in the natural world.  I thought I'd collect a few for you.

Killer Fungi - Cordyceps are a group of fungi that infect insects and take over their minds. 




Zombie Cockroach - More mind control.  Here's a species of wasp that injects a neurochemical into the cockroach to allow the wasp to guide it into a grave.  After laying eggs on the still-live cockroach, the wasp seals the tomb.




The Ant Lion - an animal that makes a trap for insects.    




Fungi that make lassos to capture little worms called nematodes



Venus flytrap - I think you'd have to call this an evolved trap.



And the grand finale - an actual mousetrap that evolved:



The mousetrap we are all familiar with was the product of people's imagination and there have been many variations, most of which never made money (went extinct).  The simplest trap really is a small stick holding something heavy up (or you could use the bait to hold the rock up).  You put the bait on the stick.  When the mouse eats the bait, the roof falls.  Here's an interesting paper discussing it called Exploring Mouse Trap History. 


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