Cockroaches: The insect we're programmed to fear
bbc.com
bbc.com
The most promising statement is 'A lot of people see parents/friends react badly and therefor consider roaches = bad', but .. that's it. The rest is a not all to bad story about a person trying to control her irrational fear of these insects by confronting it. Nothing general. No science.
(Me? I've never even SEEN cockroaches before I moved to Tel Aviv for a year and there I was greeted by dead ones on the day I moved in, live ones the day after and from then on.. I admit that it DID take some time to not jump around in circles, mostly due to the size and the 'fearlessness' and swiftness of these things. In the end they became nothing but a nuisance. Ugly, unwanted, but no big deal really)
Which is an interesting question. The fact people can learn fear is not very interesting.
I feel snakes for instance are a genetic fear. Large animals fear them, which makes no sense unless they are personally bitten and learn.
Although perhaps enough in a herd get bitten to teach the others.
In most parts of the United States, those "fortifications" consist of houses built with delicious organic materials in various stages of decomposition, sewage systems that are too rudimentary to prevent anything (not even raw sewage itself) from traveling in the wrong direction, and entrances with a "pet door" that allows free passage to anything smaller than a bear cub. It really is quite primitive, if you think about it.
A modern tower built with steel and concrete, with a proper sewage system and a strict no-pet policy, filled with minimalistic furniture, would probably go a long way toward eliminating roaches. Unfortunately, we humans still seem to be naturally attracted to warm, moist, organic stuff -- the same that is beloved of all other lifeforms, both pet and pest.
Immunology is a subject all on its own right. Rife with complexities to unravel for centuries to come.
It really sucks that this would take lobster off the menu. I don't have the money or palate to eat them, and I haven't thought much about the ethical questions of boiling them, but what an interesting and long-winded evolutionary anecdote. It's so absurd it feels like a joke. Biology never ceases to be fascinating...
I find it fascinating too. Too bad I don't have a good amount of knowledge in the area to delve into it. Do you have any suggestions of books for someone who wants to learn?
For what it's worth we relied solely upon the primary literature as the basis for a second semester course, so I'd say it prepared us for at least that much. (Granted you'll also need to study the techniques and assays. Some biochem, molecular, and cell phys also helps.)
Once you delve into the literature the organized rules you spend time memorizing begin to look silly. There is so much behaviour outside the lines that we are only beginning to characterize.