Ed Yong: Suicidal wasps, zombie roaches and other parasite tales

Translator: Eva Hoxha Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

A herd of wildebeests, a shoal of fish,

Nje tufe antilopash afrikane, nje cektine me peshq,

a flock of birds.

nje tufe me zogj.

Many animals gather in large groups

Shume kafshe mblidhen ne grupe te medha

that are among the most wonderful spectacles

dhe eshte nje nga spektaklet me te mrekullueshme

in the natural world.

ne boten natyrore.

But why do these groups form?

Por perse formohen keto grupe?

The common answers include things like

Pergjigja me e zakonshme perfshin gjera si

seeking safety in numbers or hunting in packs

jane me te sigurt ne shumice, ose gjuetia ne grupe

or gathering to mate or breed,

ose mblidhen per te gjetur partner ose per te ngrene,

and all of these explanations,

dhe te gjitha keto shpjegime,

while often true,

nderkohe qe jane shpesh te verteta,

make a huge assumption about animal behavior,

bejne nje supozim te madh per sjelljen e kafsheve,

that the animals are in control of their own actions,

qe kafshet jane ne kontroll te veprimeve te tyre,

that they are in charge of their bodies.

se ato jane ne kontroll te trupit te tyre.

And that is often not the case.

Por shpesh nuk eshte kjo ceshtja.

This is Artemia, a brine shrimp.

Kjo eshte Artemia, nje karkalec i liqeneve te kripura.

You probably know it better as a sea monkey.

Ndoshta me mire e njihni si majmuni i detit.

It's small, and it typically lives alone,

Eshte i vogel, dhe eshte tipike te jetoje vetem,

but it can gather in these large red swarms

por mund te mblidhet ne keto mizeri te medha te kuqe

that span for meters,

qe zgjatohet per metra,

and these form because of a parasite.

dhe kjo forme ndodh per shkak te nje paraziti.

These shrimp are infected with a tapeworm.

Keto karkaleca jane te infektuar nga nje shirit.

A tapeworm is effectively a long, living gut

Nje shirit eshte nje zorre e gjate e gjalle

with genitals at one end and a hooked mouth at the other.

me gjenitalet ne nje fund dhe koken ne fundin tjeter.

As a freelance journalist, I sympathize.

Si gazetar freelancer, une e simpatizoj.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

The tapeworm drains nutrients from Artemia's body,

Shiriti i thith perberesit nga trupi i Artemias,

but it also does other things.

por gjithashtu ben edhe gjera te tjera.

It castrates them,

Ai i tredh ato,

it changes their color from transparent to bright red,

ia ndryshon ngjyren nga transparente ne nje te kuqe te ndezur,

it makes them live longer,

i ben ato te jetojne me gjate,

and as biologist Nicolas Rode has found,

dhe ashtu sic ka gjetur biologu Nicholas Rode,

it makes them swim in groups.

i ben ato te notojne ne grupe.

Why? Because the tapeworm, like many other parasites,

Perse? Sepse shiriti, ashtu si shume parazite te tjere,

has a complicated life cycle

ka nje cikel jete te komplikuar

involving many different hosts.

qe perfshin mbartes te ndryshem.

The shrimp are just one step on its journey.

Karkalecat jane vetem nje hap ne jeten e tij.

Its ultimate destination is this,

Destinacioni i tij final eshte,

the greater flamingo.

flamingo i madh.

Only in a flamingo can the tapeworm reproduce,

Shiriti mund te riprodhohet vetem ne nje flamingo,

so to get there, it manipulates its shrimp hosts

per te arritur aty, ai duhet te manipuloje karkalecin mbartes

into forming these conspicuous colored swarms

qe te formoje keto mizeri te ngjyrosura te dukshme

that are easier for a flamingo to spot

qe jane me te lehta te vihen re nga nje flamingo

and to devour,

dhe te gelltiten,

and that is the secret of the Artemia swarm.

dhe ky eshte sekreti i mizerive te Artemias.

They aren't sociable through their own volition,

Ato nuk jane te shoqerueshme me vullnetin e tyre,

but because they are being controlled.

por sepse ato po kontrollohen.

It's not safety in numbers.

Nuk eshte siguria ne shumice.

It's actually the exact opposite.

Eshte ne fakt komplet e kunderta.

The tapeworm hijacks their brains and their bodies,

Shiriti sulmon trurin dhe trupin e tyre,

turning them into vehicles

duke i kthyer ato ne mjete

for getting itself into a flamingo.

per tu futur tek nje flamingo.

And here is another example

Dhe ja ku eshte nje shembull tjeter

of a parasitic manipulation.

i manipulimeve te paraziteve.

This is a suicidal cricket.

Kjo eshte nje bulkth vetevrases.

This cricket swallowed the larvae of a Gordian worm,

Ky bulkth gelltiti larven e nje krimbi Gordian,

or horsehair worm.

ose krimbi i jeles kalit.

The worm grew to adult size within it,

Krimbi u rrit ne permasat e tij normale,

but it needs to get into water in order to mate,

por atij i nevojitet te shkoje nen uje ne menyre qe te ciftezohet,

and it does that by releasing proteins

dhe e ben kete duke leshuar proteina

that addle the cricket's brain,

qe e prishin trurin e bulkthit,

causing it to behave erratically.

duke shkaktuar qe ai te sillet ne menyre te parregullt.

When the cricket nears a body of water,

Ne momentin qe bulkthi i afrohet nje vendi me uje,

such as this swimming pool,

sic mund te jete nje pishine,

it jumps in and drowns,

hidhet ne te dhe mbytet,

and the worm wriggles out

nderkohe qe krimbi del jashte

of its suicidal corpse.

nga trupi vetvrases.

Crickets are really roomy. Who knew?

Bulkthet jane kaq te bollshem. Kush e dinte?

The tapeworm and the Gordian worm are not alone.

Shiriti dhe krimbi Gordian nuk jane te vetmit.

They are part of an entire cavalcade

Ata jane pjese e nje vargani te tere

of mind-controlling parasites,

te paraziteve manipulues,

of fungi, viruses, and worms and insects and more

e kepurdhave, viruseve, dhe krimbave dhe insekteve dhe te tjera

that all specialize in subverting and overriding

qe jane te specializuara ne shkaterrimin dhe mbizoterimin

the wills of their hosts.

e deshirave te mbartesve te tyre.

Now, I first learned about this way of life

Fillimisht une kam mesuar per kete menyre jetese

through David Attenborough's "Trials of Life"

nepermjet David Attenborough "Gjykimet e jetes"

about 20 years ago,

rreth njezet vjet me pare,

and then later through a wonderful book called

dhe me pas nepermjet nje libri te mrekullueshem

"Parasite Rex" by my friend Carl Zimmer.

"Parazitet Rex" nga miku im Carl Zimmer.

And I've been writing about these creatures ever since.

Dhe qe atehere s'kam pushuar se shkruari per keto krijesa.

Few topics in biology enthrall me more.

Pak subjekte ne biologji me magjepsin me shume se ata.

It's like the parasites have subverted my own brain.

Eshte sikur parazitet kane pushtuar trurin tim.

Because after all, they are always compelling

Sepse ne fund te fundit, ata jane gjithmone imponues

and they are delightfully macabre.

dhe te lezetshem ne menyre makabre.

When you write about parasites,

Kur ti shkruan per parazitet,

your lexicon swells with phrases like

leksiku yt mbushet me fraza si

"devoured alive" and "bursts out of its body."

"i gelltit te gjalle" dhe "nxjerr jashte nga trupi."

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

But there's more to it than that.

Por ka me shume gjera se kaq.

I'm a writer, and fellow writers in the audience

Une jam shkrimtar, dhe shkrimtaret ne audience

will know that we love stories.

e dine se ne i dashurojme historite.

Parasites invite us to resist the allure

Parazitet na ftojne qe ti rezistojme joshjes

of obvious stories.

se historive te dukshme.

Their world is one of plot twists

Bota e tyre eshte nje bote me komplote te gershetuara

and unexpected explanations.

dhe me shpjegime te papritura.

Why, for example,

Perse, per shembull,

does this caterpillar

kjo vemje

start violently thrashing about

fillon te dridhet me zhurme

when another insect gets close to it

kur nje insekt tjeter i shkon afer asaj

and those white cocoons that it seems

dhe fshikezave te bardha

to be standing guard over?

qe duket sikur po u ben roje?

Is it maybe protecting its siblings?

Ndoshta per te mbrojtur motrat e saj?

No.

Jo.

This caterpillar was attacked

Kjo vemje eshte sulmuar

by a parasitic wasp which laid eggs inside it.

nga nje grerez parazite e cila vendos veze brenda saj.

The eggs hatched and the young wasps

Vezet celen dhe grereza te reja

devoured the caterpillar alive

gelltiten vemjet e gjalla

before bursting out of its body.

perpara se te dilnin nga trupi i tyre.

See what I mean?

E kuptoni tani?

Now, the caterpillar didn't die.

Tani, vemja nuk ngordhi.

Some of the wasps seemed to stay behind

Disa nga grerezat qendruan prapa

and controlled it into defending their siblings

dhe e kontrolluan ate ne mposhtjen e motrave te saj

which are metamorphosing

gjate metamorfozes se tyre

into adults within those cocoons.

ne te rritur brenda ketyre fshikezave.

This caterpillar is a head-banging zombie bodyguard

Keto vemje jane si nje truproje zombie

defending the offspring

qe mbron pasardhesit

of the creature that killed it.

e krijeses qe e vrane ate.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

We have a lot to get through. I only have 13 minutes. (Laughter)

Kemi shume gjera per te kaluar. Kam vetem 13 minuta. (Te qeshura)

Now, some of you are probably just

Tani, disa prej jush ndoshta

desperately clawing for some solace

jane duke kerkuar deshperimisht per pak ngushellim

in the idea that these things are oddities

qe keto gjera jane kuriozitete

of the natural world, that they are outliers,

te botes natyrore, se ata jane te vecuar,

and that point of view is understandable,

dhe kjo pikpamje eshte e kuptueshme,

because by their nature, parasites are quite small

sepse nga natyra e tyre, parazitet jane shume te vegjel

and they spend a lot of their time

dhe shpenzojne shume kohe te jetes se tyre

inside the bodies of other things.

brenda trupave te gjerave te tjera

They're easy to overlook,

Ata mund te neglizhohen lehte,

but that doesn't mean that they aren't important.

por kjo nuk do te thote qe ata jane te parendesishem.

A few years back, a man called Kevin Lafferty

Disa vjet me pare, nje njeri i quajtur Kevin Lafferty

took a group of scientists into three Californian estuaries

mori nje grup shkencetaresh ne tre estuaret kaliforniane

and they pretty much weighed and dissected

dhe ata peshuan dhe shqyrtuan

and recorded everything they could find,

dhe regjistruan cdo gje qe mund te gjenin,

and what they found

dhe ajo cfare gjeten

were parasites in extreme abundance.

ishte nje bollek parazitesh.

Especially common were trematodes,

Vecanerisht te zakonshem ishin trematodet,

tiny worms that specialize in castrating their hosts

krimba te vegjel te specializuar ne tredhjen e mbartesve te tyre

like this unfortunate snail.

ashtu si ky kermilli i pafat.

Now, a single trematode is tiny, microscopic,

Nje trematod e vetme eshte e vogel, mikroskopike,

but collectively they weighed as much

por sebashku ato peshojne kaq shume

as all the fish in the estuaries

sa te gjithe peshqit neper laguna

and three to nine times more than all the birds.

dhe tre deri ne nente here me shume se te gjithe zogjte.

And remember the Gordian worm that I showed you,

Dhe e mbani mend krimbin Gordian qe ju tregova,

the cricket thing?

ajo historia e bulkthit?

One Japanese scientist called Takuya Sato

Nje shkencetar japonez i quajtur Takuya Sato

found that in one stream,

gjeti se ne nje rrjedhe

these things drive so many crickets

keta krimba drejtojne kaq shume bulkthe

and grasshoppers into the water

dhe karkaleca ne uje

that the drowned insects

saqe insektet e mbytur

make up some 60 percent of the diet of local trout.

perbejne rreth 60 perqind te dietes se troftave lokale.

Manipulation is not an oddity.

Manipulimi nuk eshte nje gje e rralle.

It is a critical and common part

Eshte pjese kritike dhe e zakonshme

of the world around us,

e botes rreth nesh,

and scientists have now found

dhe shkencetaret tani kane gjetur

hundreds of examples of such manipulators,

me qindra shembuj te manipulimeve te tilla,

and more excitingly, they're starting to understand

dhe me shume, ata po fillojne te kuptojne

exactly how these creatures control their hosts.

ekzaktesisht sesi keto krijesa kontrollojne prene e tyre.

And this is one of my favorite examples.

Kjo ketu eshte nje nga shembujt e mi te preferuar.

This is Ampulex compressa,

Kjo eshte Ampulex compresa

the emerald cockroach wasp,

grereza e smeraldt e kacabunit,

and it is a truth universally acknowledged

dhe njihet boterisht

that an emerald cockroach wasp in possession

qe nje grereze e smeraldte e kacabunit

of some fertilized eggs

qe ka disa veze te fertilizuara

must be in want of a cockroach.

eshte duke kerkuar nje furrtare.

When she finds one,

Keshtu qe kur ajo e gjen nje

she stabs it with a stinger

ajo i ngul thumbin asaj

that is also a sense organ.

qe eshte gjithashtu nje shqise.

This discovery came out three weeks ago.

Ky zbulim doli tre jave me pare.

She stabs it with a stinger that is a sense organ

Ajo i ngul thumbin qe eshte nje shqise

equipped with small sensory bumps

dhe eshte i pajisur me nje gunge me ndijues

that allow her to feel the distinctive texture

qe e lejon ate te ndjeje strukturen e vecante

of a roach's brain.

te trurit te furrtares.

So like a person blindly rooting about in a bag,

Ashtu si nje njeri qe germon verberisht ne nje cante

she finds the brain, and she injects it with venom

ajo gjen trurin, dhe injekton helmin

into two very specific clusters of neurons.

ne dy grupe neurore shume specifike.

Israeli scientists Frederic Libersat and Ram Gal

Shkencetaret izraelit Frederic Libersat dhe Ram Gal

found that the venom is a very specific chemical weapon.

gjeten se helmi eshte nje arme kimike shume specifike.

It doesn't kill the roach, nor does it sedate it.

Ai as nuk e vret furrtaren, as nuk e qeteson ate.

The roach could walk away

Furrtarja mund te largohet,

or fly or run if it chose to,

ose te fluturoje ose te vrapoje nese e zgjedh kete,

but it doesn't choose to,

por nuk e ben kete gje,

because the venom nixes its motivation to walk,

sepse helmi ia heq motivimin per te ecur,

and only that.

dhe vetem ate.

The wasp basically un-checks the escape-from-danger box

Grereza ia bllokon sinjalin -shpeto nga rreziku-,

in the roach's operating system,

ne sistemin operues te buburrecit,

allowing her to lead her helpless victim

duke e lejuar ate te drejtoje viktimen e tij te paafte

back to her lair by its antennae

drejt skutes se saj me ane te antenave

like a person walking a dog.

si nje person qe shetit nje qen.

And once there, she lays an egg on it,

Dhe kur arrin atje, ajo vendos vezet,

egg hatches, devoured alive, bursts out of body,

vezet celin, e gelltisin te gjalle, dalin jashte trupit,

yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill.

yadda yadda yadda, e dini pjesen tjeter.

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Te qeshura) (Duartrokitje)

Now I would argue that, once stung,

Duhet t'ju them qe pasi eshte thumbuar,

the cockroach isn't a roach anymore.

furrtarja nuk eshte me nje buburrec.

It's more of an extension of the wasp,

Eshte me shume nje zgjatim i grerezez,

just like the cricket was an extension of the Gordian worm.

ashtu si bulkthi qe ishte nje zgjatim i krimbit Gordian.

These hosts won't get to survive or reproduce.

Keto mbartes nuk do te arrijne te mbijetojne apo te riprodhohen.

They have as much control over their own fates

Ata kane aq shume kontroll ndaj fatit te tyre

as my car.

sa ka makina ime.

Once the parasites get in,

Mbasi paraziti futet brenda,

the hosts don't get a say.

mbartesi nuk mund te vendose me.

Now humans, of course,

Tani njerezit, sigurisht,

are no stranger to manipulation.

nuk jane te panjohur ndaj manipulimit.

We take drugs to shift the chemistries of our brains

Ne marrim droga per te ndryshuar kimine e trurit tone

and to change our moods,

dhe per te ndryshuar humorin tone

and what are arguments or advertising or big ideas

dhe c'jane debatet, reklamat apo idete e medha

if not an attempt to influence someone else's mind?

nese jo nje perpjekje per te influencuar ne mendjen e dikujt tjeter?

But our attempts at doing this

Por perpjekjet tona per te bere kete

are crude and blundering compared

jane te paperpunuara dhe me shume gabime krahasuar

to the fine-grained specificity of the parasites.

me specifikimin me shume finese te paraziteve.

Don Draper only wishes he was as elegant

Sikur te ishte Don Draper i Mad Man aq elegant dhe preciz

and precise as the emerald cockroach wasp.

sa grereza e smeraldt e buburrecit.

Now, I think this is part of what makes parasites

Une mendoj se kjo eshte pjese e asaj qe i ben parazitet

so sinister and so compelling.

kaq te keqinj dhe kaq te parrezistueshem.

We place such a premium on our free will

Ne i japim kaq shume rendesi vullnetit tone te lire

and our independence

dhe pavaresise sone

that the prospect of losing those qualities

saqe perspektiva e humbjes se ketyre karakteristikave

to forces unseen

ndaj forcave te padukshme

informs many of our deepest societal fears.

na ve ne dukje friket tona sociale me te medha.

Orwellian dystopias and shadowy cabals

Distopite ornuelliane dhe konspiruesit

and mind-controlling supervillains --

dhe kriminelet qe kontrollojne mendjet-

these are tropes that fill our darkest fiction,

keto jane kuptimet figurative te sajimeve me te frikshme

but in nature, they happen all the time.

por ne natyre, kjo ndodh gjate gjithe kohes.

Which leads me to an obvious

Kjo me con mua ne nje pyejte te dukshme

and disquieting question:

dhe ne nje pyetje shqetesuese:

Are there dark, sinister parasites

A ka parazite te keqinj, shpirtezi

that are influencing our behavior

qe po ndikojne ne sjelljen tone

without us knowing about it,

pa e ditur ne,

besides the NSA?

pervec NSA?

If there are any —

Nese ka ndonje -

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Te qeshura) (Duartrokitje)

I've got a red dot on my forehead now, don't I?

Kam nje pike te kuqe ne balle tani, apo jo?

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

If there are any, this is a good candidate for them.

Nese ka ndonje, ja ku eshte nje kandidat i mundshem per ta.

This is Toxoplasma gondii, or Toxo, for short,

Kjo eshte Toxoplasma gondii ose shkurt, Tokso,

because the terrifying creature

per shkak te natyres tmerruese

always deserves a cute nickname.

gjithmone ka nevoje per nje nofke te lezetshme.

Toxo infects mammals,

Tokso infekton gjitaret,

a wide variety of mammals,

nje shumellojshmeri gjitaresh,

but it can only sexually reproduce in a cat.

por mund te riprodhohet seksualisht vetem tek macet,

And scientists like Joanne Webster have shown that

Shkencetaret si Joanne Webster kane treguar

if Toxo gets into a rat or a mouse,

qe nese Tokso futet tek nje mi,

it turns the rodent into a cat-seeking missile.

ajo e kthen brejtesin ne nje rakete ne kerkim te maces.

If the infected rat smells the delightful odor

Nese miu i infektuar ndjen eren e kendshme

of cat piss,

te urines se maces

it runs towards the source of the smell

ai vrapon drejt burimit te eres

rather than the more sensible direction of away.

jo ne drejtimin e kundert sic duhet e beje.

The cat eats the rat. Toxo gets to have sex.

Macja e ha miun. Tokso mund te beje seks.

It's a classic tale of Eat, Prey, Love.

Eshte nje histori klasike e Ha, Gjuaj, Dashuro

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Te qeshura) (Duartrokitje)

You're very charitable, generous people.

Ju jeni shume bamires, njerez bujare.

Hi, Elizabeth, I loved your talk.

Pershendetje Elizabete. Me pelqeu fjalimi yt.

How does the parasite control its host

Si e kontrollon paraziti mbartesin e tij

in this way?

ne kete menyre?

We don't really know.

Nuk e dime ne te vertete.

We know that Toxo releases an enzyme

Ne dime qe Tokso leshon nje enzime

that makes dopamine, a substance involved

qe prodhon dopaminen, nje substance e cila perfshihet

in reward and motivation.

ne shperblim dhe motivim.

We know it targets certain parts of a rodent's brain,

Ne e dime se targeton pjese te vecanta te trurit te brejtesit

including those involved in sexual arousal.

duke perfshire ato qe perfshihen ne zgjimin seksual.

But how those puzzle pieces fit together

por sesi keto pjese te gjezes bashkohen sebashku

is not immediately clear.

nuk eshte akoma e qarte.

What is clear is that this thing

Ajo qe eshte e qarte eshte se kjo gje

is a single cell.

eshte nje qelize e vetme.

This has no nervous system.

Nuk ka sistem nervor.

It has no consciousness.

Nuk ka ndergjegje.

It doesn't even have a body.

Nuk ka bile as trup.

But it's manipulating a mammal?

Por po manipulon nje gjitar?

We are mammals.

Ne jemi gjitare.

We are more intelligent than a mere rat, to be sure,

Ne jemi me inteligjente sesa nje mi, me siguri,

but our brains have the same basic structure,

por truri jone ka strukturen bazike,

the same types of cells,

te njejtat qeliza te trurit,

the same chemicals running through them,

te njejtet lende kimike qe rrjedhin ne te,

and the same parasites.

dhe te njejtin parazite.

Estimates vary a lot, but some figures suggest

Vleresimet variojne shume, por disa shifra tregojne

that one in three people around the world

se nje ne tre njerez ne bote

have Toxo in their brains.

kane Tokso ne trurin e tyre

Now typically, this doesn't lead to any overt illness.

ne pergjithesi, kjo nuk con ne asnje semundje.

The parasite holds up in a dormant state

paraziti qendron ne gjendje te fjetur

for a long period of time.

per nje periudhe te gjate kohe.

But there's some evidence that those people

Por ka disa evidenca se keta njerez

who are carriers score slightly differently

qe jane mbartes kane rezultate te ndryshme

on personality questionnaires than other people,

ne pyetesoret e personalitetit nga personat e tjere,

that they have a slightly higher risk of car accidents,

qe kane nje risk me te larte per aksidente me makine,

and there's some evidence that people with schizophrenia

dhe ka evidence se njerezit me skizofreni

are more likely to be infected.

ka shume te ngjare te jene te infektuar.

Now, I think this evidence is still inconclusive,

Tani, une mendoj se kjo evidence eshte akoma te paperfunduar,

and even among Toxo researchers,

edhe bile ndermjet kerkuesve te Toxo,

opinion is divided as to whether the parasite

opinionet jane te ndryshme nese paraziti

is truly influencing our behavior.

ndikon vertet ne sjelljen tone.

But given the widespread nature of such manipulations,

Por duke pare perhapjen kaq te madhe ne natyre te manipulimeve te tilla,

it would be completely implausible

do te ishte plotesisht e pabesueshme

for humans to be the only species

qe njerezit te jene qeniet e vetme

that weren't similarly affected.

qe te mos preken ne menyre te njejte.

And I think that this capacity to constantly

Une mendoj se ky kapacitet qe ne menyre konstante

subvert our way of thinking about the world

saboton menyren sesi ne mendojme per boten

makes parasites amazing.

i ben parazitet te habitshem.

They're constantly inviting us to look at the natural world sideways,

Ata ne menyre te vazhdueshme na ftojne te shohim me dyshim boten natyrore

and to ask if the behaviors we're seeing,

dhe te pyesim nese sjelljet qe po verejme

whether they're simple and obvious

qofshin ato te thjeshta dhe te dukshme,

or baffling and puzzling,

ose te pakuptueshme dhe enigmatike,

are not the results of individuals

nuk jane rezultat i individeve

acting through their own accord

te cilet veprojne sipas arsyes se tyre

but because they are being bent

por sepse ato kane rene

to the control of something else.

nen kontrollin e dickaje tjeter.

And while that idea may be disquieting,

Nderkohe qe kjo ide mund te jete shqetesuese

and while parasites' habits may be very grisly,

dhe nderkohe qe sjelljet e paraziteve mund te jene shume te frikshme

I think that ability to surprise us

une mendoj se aftesia per te na habitur ne

makes them as wonderful and as charismatic

i ben ata me te mrekullueshem dhe me karizmatike

as any panda or butterfly or dolphin.

se cdo pande apo flutur apo delfin.

At the end of "On the Origin of Species,"

Ne fund te " Mbi origjinen e specieve"

Charles Darwin writes about the grandeur of life,

Carls Darvini shkruan mbi madheshtine e jetes

and of endless forms most beautiful

dhe mbi format e pafundme me te bukura

and most wonderful,

dhe me te mrekullueshme

and I like to think he could easily have been talking

dhe mua me pelqen te mendoj se ai mund te kete qene

about a tapeworm that makes shrimp sociable

duke folur per shiritin qe i ben karkalecat e shoqerueshem

or a wasp that takes cockroaches for walks.

ose nje grerez qe e nxjerr buburrecin shetitje.

But perhaps, that's just a parasite talking.

Por ndoshta, kjo eshte thjesht nje e folur paraziti.

Thank you.

Ju falemnderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)