#btw the paper is Physiology of Insect Diapause. IV. The Brain and Prothoracic Glands as and Endocrine System in the Cecropia Silkworm | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fleshbeetle · 10 months ago

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ok in 1952 this guy took all these silkworm pupae's brains out and then stitched them together in a chain and implanted a brain in one of the ones on the end. and the growth hormones from that one brain managed to spread throughout the entire chain of pupae and trigger their development to adulthood in order of their proximity to the implanted brain. I get that it was an important experiment but it's so over the top. why couldn't they just do it by transplanting one brain into one pupa? or maybe just a chain of two. why did it need to be eight

just learned about the most batshit insane entomology experiment. give me a second

#btw the paper is Physiology of Insect Diapause. IV. The Brain and Prothoracic Glands as and Endocrine System in the Cecropia Silkworm #i looked up the author Carroll Williams and it seems he came up with using CO2 as anaesthetic for insects so he has that going for him #but still it just seems kind of weird and sadistic. why did you need to make a chain of 8 of them #researchers are always doing crazy shit to bugs that would never ever get approved for any other animal #like cutting off their limbs and heads and putting them in psychological torture situations and poisoning them #it seems like there are basically no animal ethics considerations for research on insects which makes me kind of uncomfortable #they ARE animals . and they do have a certain level of intelligence i think #but its so culturally ingrained that they dont feel pain or that theyre disposable or vermin that people dont really give a second thought

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