A Battle of the Vampires, 20 Million Years Ago?

This is a unique discovery.

www.sciencedaily.com...

They are tiny, ugly, disease-carrying little blood-suckers that most people have never seen or heard of, but a new discovery in a one-of-a-kind fossil shows that "bat flies" have been doing their noxious business with bats for at least 20 million years.

For bats, that's a long time to deal with a parasite doing its best vampire impression. Maybe it is nature's revenge on the vampire bat, an aggressive blood consumer in its own right that will feed on anything from sheep to dogs and humans.

The find was made by researchers from Oregon State University in amber from the Dominican Republic that was formed 20-30 million years ago. The bat fly was entombed and perfectly preserved for all that time in what was then oozing tree sap and later became a semi-precious stone.

This is the only fossil ever found of a bat fly, and scientists say it's an extraordinary discovery. It was also carrying malaria, further evidence of the long time that malaria has been prevalent in the New World. The genus of bat fly discovered in this research is now extinct

"Bat flies are a remarkable case of specific evolution, animals that have co-evolved with bats and are found nowhere else," said George Poinar, Jr., an OSU professor of zoology and one of the world's leading experts on the study of ancient ecosystems through plants and animals preserved in amber.

I think one of the key elements to this discovery is the finding that the bat fly was carrying malaria, showing that malaria has been around for at least 20-30 million years. It's amazing how enduring bacteria and viruses can be, and a little frightening to think that long after humans are gone from the earth, things like malaria may still be thriving.

You know, if scientists really wanted to, they could isolate those genes that not only require blood consumption, but enable the physiological structure to digest and benefit from imbibed blood.

Our government could, with proper funding, create vampire humans.

The thing is, it wouldn't give them super speed or super strength or vulnerability to the light or anything. But they would be vampires.

I just think it would be cool.

reply to post by Starchild23


What good is being a vampire if the powers dont come along with it?

reply to post by Starchild23


Now that's a scary thought....sort of like the movie "The Fly", but with the actual intention of creating human/fly/vampires. If nothing else, the idea could be the next generation of vampire movies.

Originally posted by DIDtm
reply to post by Starchild23

 

What good is being a vampire if the powers dont come along with it?

Ask people who think they are vampires. I think it has to do with sexual appeal. Honestly, I don't find anything sexy about vampires.

The only reasons I would ever want to be a vampire are:

1) Powers
2) People leave me the hell alone
3) Immortality

reply to post by Starchild23


Oo so the gov could isolate the genes that are able to let birds fly (let them grow wings and stuff) and apply them to us...

i think thats not true - but wait:

reply to post by LeTan


It's interesting really. I have had fullscale arguments with people who believe they are vampires...

But the thing is, they aren't. You have to require bloody by consumption to be a vampire. They say it nourishes you with iron, but you can take pills for that.

There is no such thing as a vampire human. Blood consumption is always a choice, not a necessity.

reply to post by Hessdalen


That can't happen. Our bones are too solid...and if we made them hollow, they'd break easily.

So strengthen bones, then hollow them out, all through genetics?

I prefer the James Patterson principle of air sacs in convenient locations throughout the body.

reply to post by isyeye


Another great find iseye!

S&F&