WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Alien, Part 7 – The Xenomorph

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the

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<v Speaker 2>Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 2>Your Mind focusing on mythical creatures, ideas and monsters in time.

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<v Speaker 2>Thus far in the Alien Monster Fact series, we've discussed

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<v Speaker 2>everything from the mysterious engineers and their black goo, to

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<v Speaker 2>the xenomorph egg and the face hugger that emerges from it.

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<v Speaker 2>As we all know, the next phase in the alien

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<v Speaker 2>life cycle is the violent eruption of the free living

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<v Speaker 2>chest burster, which swiftly grows to become an adult xenomorph,

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes referred to as a stage four xenomorph or simply

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<v Speaker 2>a drone or warrior in science fiction. The Biology of

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<v Speaker 2>the Alien in Alien by armand Im Kurus and Mona

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<v Speaker 2>why Lau, published just last year in the Portland Press.

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<v Speaker 2>The authors describe the xenomorph's parasitic development inside the host

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<v Speaker 2>as lining up with natural world coinobiant parasitoids parasites that

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<v Speaker 2>attack hosts that then continue feeding and growing during the parasitism. Because,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, we see this in the original nineteen seventy

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<v Speaker 2>nine film Alien, when Caine's face hugger falls away, he

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<v Speaker 2>awakens and acts like his old self again. He chats

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<v Speaker 2>and jokes with his crewmates. He enjoys a meal and

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<v Speaker 2>prepares to carry on his ship duties, right before the

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<v Speaker 2>creature inside him violently emerges. Couris and Low compared this

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<v Speaker 2>to various parasitoid wasps, horsehair worms, and the corticep's fungus.

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<v Speaker 2>In general, we're dealing with examples where the doomed host

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<v Speaker 2>organism continues to behave as usual, sometimes even feeding, but

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<v Speaker 2>also acting in a manner to benefit the parasite. Corticeps

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<v Speaker 2>infected ants climb to a high point and release spores.

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<v Speaker 2>Horsehair worm infected cricket seek out water to drown in,

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<v Speaker 2>enabling the spawn inside them to burst free into their

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<v Speaker 2>desired watery habitat and swim off in search of a mate.

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<v Speaker 2>The growth of such parasites is amazing, consuming host tissues

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<v Speaker 2>to the developing organism is almost as large as the

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<v Speaker 2>host in some cases, converting according to Corris and Low,

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<v Speaker 2>upwards of quote seventy percent of the host tissues into

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<v Speaker 2>parasitoid biomass and up to ninety percent of its nitrogen,

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<v Speaker 2>mostly to build parasitoid protein. In the twenty twelve article

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<v Speaker 2>how the Alien xenomorph Works for HowStuffWorks, dot com I

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<v Speaker 2>pointed to some grizzly natural world examples of this sort

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<v Speaker 2>of thing, including the parasitic wasp cotessiaglomerata, which may pump

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<v Speaker 2>up to sixty eggs into a single caterpillar, which may

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<v Speaker 2>ultimately account for thirty percent of the host organism's body weight.

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<v Speaker 2>The hatching larvae drink the host organism's fluids, but avoid

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<v Speaker 2>vital organs. Other organisms, such as the Dinocampus cosinello wasp,

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<v Speaker 2>seem to reprogram the host to protect the emergent larvae.

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<v Speaker 2>And here's another interesting wrinkle to this. Parasitic wasp larvae

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<v Speaker 2>seem to use a virus mimicking poison to shut down

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<v Speaker 2>a host's immune system, allowing their growing spawn to develop

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<v Speaker 2>inside the host unopposed. In a matter of hours, perhaps

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<v Speaker 2>aided by the consumption of additional biomass and even metals,

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<v Speaker 2>the xenomorph chest burster develops into a full grown adult,

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<v Speaker 2>standing a good eight feet or two point four meters

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<v Speaker 2>in height. Glistening and black, the bipedal xenomorph boasts a

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<v Speaker 2>number of features that indeed make it worthy of the

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<v Speaker 2>moniker perfect organism. It seems to benefit from a dual

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<v Speaker 2>skeletal system, both indo and exo, as well as caustic

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<v Speaker 2>blood that burns anything that might injure it. They're fast,

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<v Speaker 2>They're stealthy. They attack with vicious claws, spiked tail, razor

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<v Speaker 2>sharp teeth, and a secondary jaw that launches piston like

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<v Speaker 2>to puncture prey, often compared to the phar angial jaws

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<v Speaker 2>of the moraeel. Yet while the eel uses this adaptation

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<v Speaker 2>to pull in prey, the xenomorph seems chiefly concerned with

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<v Speaker 2>killing and subduing its prey, either for transformation into an

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<v Speaker 2>ovomorph or in preparation for a xenomorph Queen's eggs. A

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<v Speaker 2>loane An adult xenomorph betrays cunning and a fair amount

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<v Speaker 2>of vicarious learning and problem solving, and within a hive context,

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<v Speaker 2>they may benefit from emergent intelligence or some manner of

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<v Speaker 2>hive mind. They have even been observed to exploit human technology,

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<v Speaker 2>at least to a limited degree. To quote the android Ash,

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<v Speaker 2>we are left with a survivor, unclouded by conscience, remorse,

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<v Speaker 2>or delusions of morality. It may constitute the ultimate creation

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<v Speaker 2>of the Engineers, or that of the rogue android David.

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<v Speaker 2>It may also be the true form of a creature

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<v Speaker 2>that inspired the Engineers in their biotechnological p suits, still

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<v Speaker 2>dominant in the dark reaches of the galaxy, or resurrected

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<v Speaker 2>via the mad research of a demented, vengeful mind. We

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<v Speaker 2>don't know, We may never know, and it seems entirely

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<v Speaker 2>likely that we should never have left the Earth to

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<v Speaker 2>begin with. That's it for the Alien Monster Facts series,

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<v Speaker 2>but depending on what the new film Alien Romulus opening

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<v Speaker 2>this weekend has to show us, I may be back

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<v Speaker 2>for one more episode to discuss its monsters, so we'll see.

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<v Speaker 2>Tune in for additional episodes of the Monster Fact the

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<v Speaker 2>Artifact or Animalia Stupendium each week on Wednesdays. As always,

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<v Speaker 2>you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 2>your Mind dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For

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