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hitchhike

Gangs of Tiny Worms Ride Electrical Fields to Hitchhike on Passing Bees : ScienceAlert

To something the size of a human, static electricity is, at most, a hair-raising experience. When you're a tiny nematode, electrical fields are positively uplifting. Literally.The most famous nematode of all – Caenorhabditis elegans – has been caught using electrical fields to its advantage. The tiny worm can somehow piggyback on electrical fields to jump a surprising distance, across a petri dish, for example, or onto the back of a bumblebee for a ride to a new locale.It's not entirely clear how the nematodes do this,…

A warming world gives viruses more chances to hitchhike from species to species

Climate change is pushing mammals into new territory, increasing the number of opportunities for viruses to jump from species to species — including humans. By 2070, if global temperatures continue to rise as predicted, there could be a total of 15,000 new cross-species “viral sharing events,” according to new research published today in the journal Nature. Of the at least 10,000 virus species in mammals capable of infecting humans, most are still only circulating among animals in the wild. The worry is that more of…