2023-06-30 17:51:47
MADRID, 30 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Researchers at the University of Bristol (UK) have discovered that ticks can be attracted to the static electricity that their hosts accumulate naturally through air spaces several times larger than themselves.
This is likely to greatly increase their efficiency in finding hosts to parasitize, as ticks are not capable of jumping and thus this is the only mechanism by which they could come into contact with hosts that are outside. out of reach of its tiny paws.
The findings, published in the journal ‘Current Biology’, are the first known example of the involvement of static electricity in the adhesion of one animal to another.
Ticks carry many nasty diseases, including Lyme disease, which make life miserable for many people and animals, and can even kill them. There is therefore enormous social and economic benefit in trying to reduce the ability of ticks to attach to people and to the animals on which humans depend.
Lead author Sam England, from Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, explains: “We knew that many animals, including humans, can build up quite significant electrostatic charges.”
“We see it when we receive a static discharge after bouncing on a trampoline or when we rub our hair with a balloon, for example. –continues–. But this electrostatic charge also happens to animals in nature when they rub against objects in their environment like grass, sand, or other animals.”
He states that “these charges are surprisingly high and can amount to hundreds, if not thousands, of volts, more than what is produced in household outlets! And more importantly, static charges exert forces on other static charges.” , either attractive or repulsive, depending on whether they are positive or negative.”
“We wondered if the static charges that mammals, birds and reptiles naturally accumulate could be tall enough that parasitic ticks could become airborne by electrostatic attraction on these animals, thus improving their efficiency in finding hosts to feed on“, Add.
The team initially tested the idea by holding rabbit fur and other statically charged materials up to ticks and seeing if they were attracted to them.
They observed that these charged surfaces dragged ticks through the air through gaps of several millimeters or centimeters (the equivalent of a human jumping several flights of stairs), so they investigated further.
“First,” Sam continues, “we used past measurements of the typical load carried by animals to mathematically predict the strength of the electric field that is generated between a charged animal and the grass on which ticks like to perch and wait for hosts to pass by“.
“Next, we placed ticks under an electrode, with an air gap between them, and increased the charge on the electrode until ticks were attracted to it. We were thus able to determine the minimum strength of the electric field that attracted ticks — He continues, “This minimal electric field was within the order of magnitude predicted by mathematical calculations of the electric field between a charged animal and grass, so it is likely that ticks in the wild are attracted to their hosts by static electricity.” “.
These results have several implications and potential applications. First, the phenomenon is likely to apply to many other parasitic species that want to contact and attach to their hosts, such as mites, fleas, or lice, so it could be a universal mechanism for animals to enter. contact and adhere to each other.
Beyond the purely scientific implications, the discovery opens the door to the development of new technologies to minimize tick bites in humans, pets, and farm animals, such as the development of antistatic sprays.
“We have now discovered that ticks can be lifted through air spaces several times larger than themselves by static electricity that other animals naturally accumulate,” Sam concludes. This makes it easier for them to find and attach themselves to the animals they want to grab onto and feed on.. Until now, we had no idea that an animal could benefit from static electricity in this way, and it really opens the imagination as to how many unseen forces like this could be helping animals and plants live their lives.”
The team now plans to investigate whether ticks are capable of sensing the electrostatic charge approaching their potential hosts.
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