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Dec. 19, 2008 -- Scientists may not be able to prove that cleanliness is next to godliness, but they have just demonstrated that good sanitation promotes an individual's ability to live and get along well with others. Since fowling oneself is a major social faux pas that can create health and safety problems, the cleanest, most intensely social creatures are likely those that never expel bodily waste, suggests a new paper that is one of the first to ever explore the simple and complex solutions different species have evolved to deal with personal waste management. "It's probably not perceived as very glamorous to be conducting research that involves the manipulation of feces!" lead author Duncan Jackson told Discovery News. "It might not also sound too great in a CV or as a topic of dinner party conversation." Jackson, a researcher in the Computational Biology group at the University of Sheffield, and colleague Adam Hart of the University of Gloucester put aside such reservations and compared how different organisms solve what may be called "the bathroom problem." Their determinations are outlined in a paper accepted for publication in the journal Animal Behavior. Related Content: Poop Fossil Pushes Back Date for Earliest Americans Baby Bugs Bully Parents for Food How Stuff Works: Housebreaking Your Pet Humans wind up on the simpler side of the scale, which we share with rodents like naked mole rats that build latrine chambers to keep their waste isolated from eating and sleeping areas. It's possible that the cleanest, most highly evolved creatures where this topic is concerned are internal parasites, along with bee, wasp and ant larvae. According to the researchers, all possess "a blind gut" that prevents continuous passage from the mouth to the anus and ensures that waste cannot be evacuated. Certain parasitic wasps fall into this group, Jackson explained, because they have "the ability to retain feces rather than defecate in the host, which would affect host survival." He and his colleague believe this ability later allowed for the crowded, highly organized and very social living habits of bees, wasps and ants. Larvae for these insects do not eliminate waste. "This can last from weeks to months," Jackson said. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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