Wasp Brains Amaze Scientists

Brains of a paper wasp species undergo dramatic changes as the wasps go from one task to another.

SUMMARY: A tropical paper wasp known as Polybia aequatorialis has a brain the size of two grains of sand. But researchers from universities in Washington and Texas have discovered that remarkably these brains can undergo dramatic changes during the daily lives of the wasps, such as actually enlarging during complex tasks.

Apparently, the dendrites (extensions of neurons) reach out to receive information from other brain cells to form a dense network of connections. The networks help the wasps to integrate information from visual, olfactory and touch sensory systems. "I was astounded when we found that some of the individual neurons had dendrites that were seven to eight millimeters long in a brain that is roughly the size of two grains of sand. That's packing a huge amount of computing power in a small amount of space," said Sean O'Donnell, a UW associate professor of psychology and co-author of the new study.

Although wasps are social creatures just as are humans, the architecture of their brains is different. However, researchers want to know if there are similarities or differences in the brain plasticity for social beings.

P. aequatorialis wasps live in colonies of 2,000 or more adults. Their tasks including working in both the dim interior and the exterior of the nest, foraging for food and building materials, and finding their way back to the nest. Each job change is accompanied by an increase in complexity of the tasks. When foraging, the wasp brains develop a more complex and dense neuron dendrite network. The causes for these changes isn't known.

O'Donnell says the change in wasp environments is comparable to what people face over the course of a day.

(Photo of a different species of paper wasp (polistes dominula) from Wikimedia Commons.)

To read the entire article click on this link to US NEWS.

COMMENT: This is another example of intelligent design--not "evolution" as the article claims. The article doesn't specifically say it, but the assumption seems to be that like the wasps, human beings might also have brains that undergo similar changes with changes in tasks.

I hope I don't sound facetious, but it would be good if the brains of more scientists would "grow" to the extent that there would be room for a more logical evaluation of the marvels they are uncovering in nature. How so many highly educated men and women with all their scientific degrees can continue to look at the highly designed and complex living creatures as well as the obvious order in all the universe and still believe it is all a matter of random chance--that is one of the mysteries of the age.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

How many dead skin cells do we lose from the surface of our skin every minute?

From 30 to 40 thousand. All the dead skin cells we lose from our skin in a year would weigh about 9 pounds (4 kg).

Source: Answers (October-December, 2009)

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