What is your opinion on a newly discovered parasitic worm being named after Barack Obama?

[Neural Network]

http://www.popsci.com/newly-discovered-blood-fluke-is-named-after-obama

 

NEWLY DISCOVERED FLATWORM IS NAMED AFTER OBAMA

 

A new species of blood fluke was found infecting the lungs of turtles in Malaysia. This parasitic flatworm has been dubbed Baracktrema obamai, in honor of the President of the United States (who is the fifth cousin twice removed of one of the discovering scientists).

B. obamai is described in the August issue of the Journal of Parasitology as having a long, thread-like body. So far, it’s shown up in two freshwater turtles, the black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis) and southeast Asian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis).

The scientists found clusters of tens to hundreds of fluke eggs in the turtles’ lung alveoli, the tiny sacs where blood receives oxygen and gets rid of carbon dioxide. How these eggs get outside to hatch and infect new hosts isn’t clear, although making the turtles cough is probably involved.

 

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/09/09/scientists-like-barack-obama-so-much-that-they-named-a-parasite-after-him/

 

Scientists like Barack Obama so much that they named a parasite after him

 

Other presidents have mountains named after them. They're the namesakes for high schools, boulevards, space centers, libraries, airports, and elk. George Washington has the capital of our country named for him, for crying out loud.

 

But how many of them have the dubious honor of being the namesake for a parasitic worm?

 

World, meet Baracktrema obamai, a deadly turtle pathogen named in honor of our current president. Believe it or not, it's supposed to be a compliment.

 

The new genus and species of parasitic flatworm was introduced this week in an article in the Journal of Parasitology. The tiny creatures, which are the thickness of a human hair, invade the lungs of freshwater turtles in Malaysia, often with deadly consequences.

 

Thomas Platt, a turtle disease expert who discovered the new species shortly before his recent retirement from St. Mary's College, said that the name is meant to honor President Obama — not gross him out. Though most people (understandably) aren't big parasite fans, Platt has a deep respect for the resilient little creatures.

 

They “face incredible obstacles to complete their [life cycles] and must contend with the immune system of the host in order to mature and reproduce,†he said in a statement.

 

Platt's research also revealed that the worm is a relative of members of the genus Unicaecum, another turtle parasite. And both are more distant relatives of the worms that cause the disease schistosomiasis in humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, schistosomiasis infects as many as 200 million people in the year, second only to malaria as the world's most devastating parasitic illness. The worms crawl into their hosts' blood vessels and lay eggs, which can become lodged in victims' organs and cause fever, muscle pain, liver problems, even seizures or cancer.

 

Understanding Baracktrema obamai's relationship to Unicaecum can help scientists understand the evolutionary history of these parasitic diseases, Platt and his colleagues write. In turn, that will help researchers figure out how to treat them.

 

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As he was delving into the phylogenetic tree of parasites, Platt had been conducting research on his own family history. In the process, he discovered that he shares a not-so-distant common ancestor with the president.

 

“I have named a number of species after people I admire, from my father-in-law, my PhD adviser, and good friends who are academics and/or amateur naturalists,†Platt said. “Baracktrema obamai will endure as long as there are systematists studying these remarkable organisms.â€

 

The turtle worm joins a long list of creatures named for Obama, which includes a lichen, an extinct lizard (the "obamadon"), a species of trapdoor spider and another parasite. At this rate, perhaps the president is looking forward to leaving office.

 

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly characterized the genus Unicaecum. It is a parasite that infects turtles.

 

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http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2016/09/blood_fluke_baracktrema_obamai_is_the_seventh_organism_named_after_president.html

 

There Are Now Seven Species Named After President Obama

 

aving something named after you is usually a compliment, particularly when it’s a brand new species. But does that still hold true if that species is actually a parasite? President Barack Obama now has the distinction of having two such creatures named after him. The newly named Baracktrema obamai is the second parasite named for the 44th president, according to the Associated Press, following a parasitic hairworm found in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya in 2012.

 

Discovered by biologist Thomas Platt last year, B. obamai is a blood fluke, a tiny flatworm that resides in the blood vessels of the lungs of its hosts, Malaysian freshwater turtles. Its presence can cause at best mild inflammation and at worst paralysis or death.

 

While naming a creature with the ability to kill innocent turtles after a sitting president might sound like the pinnacle of political passive-aggression, taxonomists say that having an organism named after you is actually quite a compliment. Famed naturalist David Attenborough, who had quite a few species named after him, once said that having a biologist name a new discovery after you is the “biggest of compliments that you could ask from any scientific community.â€

 

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In a delightful piece in Slate, Rachel E. Gross explained the official rules for species-naming:

 

All proposed names must meet standards set by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Zoologists apply the code “to avoid the chaos that would result if the naming of animals was not regulated,†according to the code’s FAQ. “Ordinary languages grow spontaneously in innumerable directions, but biological nomenclature has to be an exact tool that will convey a precise meaning for persons in all generations,†states the preface to the code’s first edition, from 1961.

Fortunately, within those rules, there is a lot of wiggle room. Like haiku, naming species is the art of restriction. For instance, according to the code, “No author should propose a name that, to his or her knowledge or reasonable belief, would be likely to give offence on any grounds.â€

That may be true, but it’s tough to consider the naming of slime-mold beetles after former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld an act of praise. The AP story also included the anecdote about a biologist naming another parasite species group “microphallus†… after her ex-husband.

 

But apparently this offering to Obama was done with good intentions, Platt told the Associated Press. B. obamai brings the total of organisms named after the president up to seven. Of course he’s still surpassed by Attenborough and Charles Darwin (perhaps unsurprisingly, there are hundreds of species named after him). Even Lady Gaga has a whooping 19 species of fern named after her.

 

In addition to the two parasites, Obama has loaned his name to a fish from Tennessee, an apparent appreciation of his commitment to conservation; an extinct lizard, for his impeccable teeth; and a bird and a trapdoor spider, both for no discernable reason. He’s also lent his name to a Californian lichen, named way back in 2008, “for the president's support of science and science education.â€

 

Obama does love science, and scientists certainly love him. As a member of the scientific community, I understand that we aren’t always the most creative bunch (three different wasps after Ralph Waldo Emerson? Really?). But how about finding a fish to name after Michael Phelps? A songbird named after Frank Ocean? Some kind of fantastic beast named after J.K. Rowling? And seriously, there should be way more than just a horsefly named after Beyoncé, even if it does have a golden abdomen.

 

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The news was reported on OH too but for some reason it was received with anger and eventually was locked by mod (Zenny), which I don't understand at all.

 

What do you think about it? Is it an honor to be named like this?

[Micah Bell]

Ahh, nevermind. I shouldn't even be wasting my time on a troll thread...

[Frogurt]

[sickwithsin]