Scientists from Novosibirsk have identified a chemical that turns a cockroach into a zombie, and have developed an antidote to return the insect to normal life.
According to the journal of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Science in Siberia", at a lecture within the framework of the Days of Science at the Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Natalya Kryukova, Candidate of Biological Sciences, spoke about the emerald cockroach wasp - Ampulex compressa.
The wasp is a parasite of large African cockroaches. With the first injection, it partially immobilizes the victim, and with the second, it blocks the transmission of neurons. As a result, the cockroach loses touch with the outside world, turns into a zombie and follows the wasp.
The zombie cockroach then turns into a breeding ground for the wasp egg, from which the larva will hatch. Scientists have found that the stinging venom of the emerald cockroach wasp contains the neurotransmitter blocker octopamine. Following the wasp, Novosibirsk researchers also managed to make a zombie out of an insect by injecting an artificial preparation into it.
When a substance that neutralizes this effect was introduced to a stung cockroach, the ability to move of its own free will returned to the insect.
Note that the term "zombie" is also of African origin. In modern understanding, it is a person or an animal, for any reason devoid of intelligence, controlled by a biological robot. Perhaps scientists will be able to find the chemical nature of one of the most mysterious states of living things.