Failed Halloween

A month later, I've realized that I failed the wonderful holiday of Halloween with my post. Not that it wasn't interesting or witty, etc, but it wasn't very apropos for the occasion.

Science Sushi Blog did a much better job in capturing the spirit of Halloween with Your Average, Everyday Zombie - an entertaining and informative post about how creatures (often to fuel developing larvae or to increase dispersal) can take over and control their hosts. The neuroscience, behavior, developmental, and ecological questions are many fold, but really it comes down to being COOL. And a couple of days later, my family and I were privileged and horrified to see one of the examples, the parasitic wasp (see the section The Zombie, It Stings), on a stem of broccoli from our local organic farmer's market. It was definitely organic!