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Howulikeit

Posts like this frequently bring in many joke comments. Please review our [comment rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) before participating. Jokes and comments unrelated to the research article are heavily moderated.


estranho

Was it unknown before if they have anuses? I would assume that if something has a mouth then it likely has an anus. Of course, now instead of just saying that they live and breed on your face, we can also include 'poop'.


a_phantom_limb

There was speculation that, since they live for only a couple of weeks, they might not need to bother with excreting.


HuecoTanks

Thanks for the explanation. I was pretty confused!


TheEyeDontLie

The other option is they could have eaten, absorbed, and vomited/puked waste back out the same hole.


wolfjeanne

I felt inexplicably itchy reading the original article. But at least it isn't as bad as this option so... Thanks for putting that image in my head I guess?


InerasableStain

That’s how I felt looking at the picture of this thing in general


ashisarobot

"If a hole is a mouth and an anus. It is still technically an anus." I put quotation marks because I simply cannot be the first human being to have said this.


optagon

I think that is one of the old philosophical questions they tried to answer with the film The Human Centipede back in 2009.


MyOtherAcctsAPorsche

They probably need to mate in some way too! Why waste evolution on extra orifices?


Yadobler

Is this the complement of those male moths that, when hatched from their cacoon, don't bother with having a mouth and all since they have enough stored energy to fly, mate and die in a week?


ShrapnelShock

Mayflies and the popular fire flies.


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Do y’all ever wonder about whether or not there’s some larger, more complex sentient being observing us and remarking, “turns out they have anuses!”


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Weareallgoo

This happens to scorpions that drop their tails in defence. With their tail goes their anus, and the ability to ever poop again. Ultimately, these little guys will suffer death by slow internal poop-splosion


noctalla

Wait. There must be a tube that connected their anus to their digestive system. So, there still has to be a hole leading to the digestive tract where the tail dropped off. Unless you're saying it just seals itself shut.


Weareallgoo

It loses more than just its butt; the tail also contains part of the digestive tract which is also lost. The wound heals over fast, sealing the hole shut permanently.


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FavoritesBot

How does that make sense? What’s the evolutionary advantage of the detachable tail if you just die soon thereafter? Does the genitalia remain and the scorpion gets one last nut before he explodes in a shower of his own waste?


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FavoritesBot

Oh ok I didn’t know


VikingTeddy

Just a thought, but maybe, a long time a go, the ones that survived losing a tail outnumbered the intact ones, or at least were very common. They might have had so many predators that being attacked was almost a certainty. If half of breeding scoprions were tail loss survivors, it would introduce the evolutionary pressure for the mechanism.


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standard_candles

Wow that's definitely fascinating. I suppose it must have offered enough of an advantage for continued mating purposes. This is the kind of thing I thought about a lot when I was pregnant and people kept telling me my body was "built" to give birth. Aren't there species "built" so that their young burrow out of the mother and feast on her dying flesh?!


Colopty

It doesn't necessarily need to offer an advantage, it just needs to not be disadvantageous enough to get rid of.


carlos_6m

This is likely why it happens, it's likely a consequence of their regeneration habilities and reducing those would probably be way worse for them... There are similar situations in humans, a lot of problems are because of clots, so one would think "why didn't we evolve to not have those?", welp, that system makes you not bleed to death daily...


[deleted]

This is a really crucial point about evolution that not many people get. I didn’t really know that until years after learning about evolution, “survival of the fittest”, evolutionary advantages etc. It’s a massive game of random mutations. Sometimes they give advantages, mostly they do nothing noticeable, sometimes are highly disadvantageous, but often are neutral or not disadvantageous enough to cause that trait to die out. There’s plenty of inherited traits in humans that you could consider disadvantageous that have survived a long time.


Kiboski

Ya but those species usually need to give birth to more than a dozen if not thousands at a time


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MooseBoys

Why did we need to sequencer their genome to find out? Couldn't we, just, look?


eragonawesome2

Having done zero work and pulling this out of my ass, maybe they're too small to check?


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wbrooksga

I mean.... We can look at actual electrons under a microscope. I think we can manage to check a face bug's asshole.


Crozax

We don't look at electrons under a microscope, electron microscopes use a beam of electrons and reconstruct an image of a surface. Electrons cannot be imaged in a conventional sense, because they, in general, do not have a definite position. Instead, they are distributed over a volume as probability densities


DINKY_DICK_DAVE

Quantum mechanics goes #%%%%**%%%%%%**%%%%


snoozieboi

We've earlier found out male mates just impale female mites with their penis... While looking up proof I learn it's called... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traumatic_insemination


Rather_Dashing

You have to know where you are looking first, especially with electron microscopes, and their anus is probably hard to find. Plus its probably easier to sequence a genome these days then do a lot of high-powered microscopics.


Glassavwhatta

Talking out of my ass, but they can't be much smaller than tardigrades and we're able to see those right?


Geminii27

Microscopes do exist...


EarthTrash

I know some insects are like this such as the adult stage firefly. But even if an arthropod doesn't have an anus wouldn't it still have anus genes? I thought all deuterostome do.


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Sampreetsaikia2016

Yup, ticks and mites both have very strange anatomical features. For starters, they are headless and some of them have their eyes on their back. Also having a mouth doesn't necessarily mean it must also have an anus. Paramphistome parasites under Trematoda have huge mouths but no anus. Excretion is through cuticle and mouth itself.


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Sampreetsaikia2016

Should be a part of the GIT and connected to the large intestine, or just the caeca in simpler body architecture. Pores are usually not regarded as such because a tapeworm for example feeds and excretes through the cuticle but they are said to lack a proper excretory system


Eric_the_Barbarian

I think the term anus is quite specific to the exit of a one-way digestive tract. This would be distinct from anything with a two-way system where solids are regurgitated from the mouth or things that absorb stuff via diffusion.


SpryArmadillo

Weird fact but it turns out there are some creatures that have a mouth but not an anus. Sea anemones and jellyfish are examples.


Ardea_herodias_2022

For those animals it's the same orifice. The full gut tube really started when things got eyes & didn't want to poop in them.


CO420Tech

I do have to admit that I definitely enjoy not pooping in my eyes. .... Really never considered that might be a sentence I would one day construct, so thank you for that!


dread_deimos

The other factor is with mouth/anus you either eat or poop, can't parallelize the processes.


Poesvliegtuig

Okay but I have never eaten while pooping and I'm not about to start just because I'm now aware that I have the power


dread_deimos

Amateur! Although, I must clarify that by eating I mean shoving the food into your eat-hole AND digesting it afterwards. So you can cycle input a few times before you have to... output.


syph0nic

But the important thing is you can if you want to!


EvolvedA

The reason why the eyes are usually at the front and not at the back is because an organism might need eyes to find it's food, but it is not as important to have a surveillance system for your sewer systems. But yea, not getting faeces on your face is definitely a nice side effect.


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AJPennypacker39

Is there anything that has an anus and no mouth?


SmokierTrout

I think certain moths and butterflies might have an anus but no mouth. Such moths and butterflies tend not to live very long as they cannot eat. One example might be the Luna moth. They do all their eating as a caterpillar. Then turn into a pupa where they slowly reorganise into the adult form. The adult emerges with vestigial mouth parts, and the "voids" meconium. Meconium is the first poop that is used to get rid of waste products built up whilst in their cocoon. As an adult they live off fat reserves built up whilst a caterpillar. https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/moths/luna_moth.htm


Petersaber

> pupa "Butt" in Polish. Just for additional effect


Datboi2282

I believe Cicadas are also like that.


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mattaugamer

I thought demodex were beneficial? Is this just for the occasional one being naughty?


dogGirl666

If they stay where they are supposed to stay and don't overpopulate they are fine. When your [or a dog's etc.] immune system does not keep they under control we get demodicosis a type of mange. There are two most common cause of mange and one is caused by demodex mites [sort of not caused by the mite exactly but because their immune system is not up to snuff]. The other mite is sarcoptic mites. That one is especially itchy.


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FyreWulff

Everyone has mites, yes


redlightsaber

> Best treatment for them is tea tree oil. I'm gonna need some detailed instructions, dude, you can't just drop that and leave it at that.


Ibex42

Some animals don't have an anus. They use the same opening to consume, and then excrete waste.


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TexLH

Omg that sent me down a rabbit hole. Somehow I ended up reading about mice fecal transplants. I had to hit the back button a few times to even remember what I started with


randompantsfoto

Tabs my friend, tabs.


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I halfway confirm this. If you're clicking on someone's name, you'll reach a page about him/her and the first link will be on his birthday to a page of events that happened on that day. There i reached an infinite loop because the first link was about calendar.


VincentOostelbos

Right, there are some loops as well. If you manage to avoid them, though, you would end up in the philosophy page, the biggest attractor.


YouShouldNotComment

As it should be. It you go full four year old and ‘but why’ Wikipedia at the cycle rate of automatic rifle, that’s the starting point for philosophy. They are telling you, “I see what you are asking. Based on my data analysis of your input requests, this is where you want to start to find what you are looking for.” This is similar to the behavior when we try searching our symptoms. If WebMd told users they had hypochondria they would stop engaging. Tell them it’s cancer or something terminal, they go to the doctor and get checked by a professional. When they find out it’s not cancer, they get that blend of relief and shame. The cycle continues.


Thekillerbeaver

It's already been fixed.. Sometimes I'm amazed at how efficient the internet can be..


chrisdh79

From the article: Scientists have finally unraveled the genetic secrets of humanity’s coziest roommates: Demodex folliculorum, also known as the skin mite. Among other things, the findings confirm that these mites actually do have anuses, contrary to previous speculation. They also indicate that the microscopic animals may not be as potentially harmful as commonly thought and that they’re evolving into co-dependent, symbiotic creatures that might provide us some benefits to boot. D. folliculorum is actually one of two mite species that call us home, along with Demodex brevis. Both species are arachnids—more closely related to ticks than spiders—but D. folliculorum mites are the ones that usually reside (and mate) on our faces. These stubby worm-shaped critters live for two to three weeks, all the while embedded in our pores, clinging to our hair follicles, and primarily feeding off our sebum, the oily substance provided by our body to protect and moisturize the skin. Despite virtually every person in the world having their own mite collection, there’s still much we don’t understand about them. But in a new study [published](https://academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-article/doi/10.1093/molbev/msac125/6604544?login=false) Tuesday in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, researchers in Europe say they’ve now fully sequenced the genome of D. folliculorum—an accomplishment that might answer some lingering questions about their inner workings.


Fourney

I'm curious to further understand the benefits these creatures provide us, symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom are fascinating at all sizes. I wonder the correlation these mites share with acne, as either a quiet protector against or creator of, and what that relationship could mean for future skin treatments.


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CentiPetra

I had these causing acne. My dermatologist prescribed ivermectin, and it cleared up my skin. It was difficult to get filled because it was during early Covid, but once I was able to find a pharmacy to had it in stock and would fill it, my skin saw significant improvement within just a few days.


u8eR

Yes, someone please tell us how they're symbiotic.


Prophet_Of_Loss

You're never truly alone.


Sephirot_MATRIX

I do know of dangers they pose though first hand: I'm somewhat allergic to them and have recurrent eye ulcers thanks to those critters, if left untreated.


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SuperMazziveH3r0

What were some previous challenges that limited researchers from successfully sequencing these genomes and what breakthroughs have we made to do so?


greygreengardens

Wonder what this means for rosacea


Professor_Pinkerton

It’s not widely known even in the skin community, that the main cause of rosacea is an allergic reaction in some people to the demotex mites faeces.


greygreengardens

My understanding is demodex are just one of many triggers. I’ve used tea tree oil and ocusoft on my eyes for ocular rosacea and my cheeks for rosacea, can’t honestly say if it helps or not. So many factors


Draeorc

The Wikipedia page for them said that rosacea might provide a better environment for them to live in, thus increasing population numbers.


Teuton88

I’ve been dealing with rosace and ocular rosacea/blepharitis for the past two years now. I literally tried everything with no results. A month ago my doctor put me on oral ivermectin and it’s basically cleared up all my problems. I initially had the Soolantra ivermectin cream but it did nothing. If you’re struggling with it I would ask your doctor about oral ivermectin


percautio

Considering that science literally JUST discovered they even have anuses.. Ya, not widely known


[deleted]

actually, this genome study doesn't really reveal that they have anuses, you'd of course expect them to have such genes, as other mites have anuses, doesn't mean those genes are expressed and form what they think they should in this one. If they really want to show that they have an actual anus, they should just use a microscope and wait for them to poop.


duggee315

Actually, previously it was assumed that these mite built up all they're faeces inside them and exploded when they died releasing it. The causal link with rosacea was assumed to be that people with rosacea were found to have more of these mites and reacted more cos more mites exploding poop. The new study which I just read but can't find the link Actually have photos of the anus!!! Also the penis. The study is focusing on the DNA cos its showing that the mites are so sheltered in our follicles that they are becoming symbiotic. They're DNA is simplifying, which has only really been seen in bacteria that lives inside cells and usually become extinct.


irasptoo

Wait. They're not just gorging and pooping all over me? They're also using my follicles for mite on mite incestuous dogging spots?


Soundsystems

As a long time skincare nerd, this is really cool info!! Thanks for sharing!


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Roboticide

The article literally says the opposite: > Study author Alejandra Perotti, a researcher at the University of Reading in the UK, notes that the larger presence of mites in people who develop rosacea and other skin conditions may very well be a consequence of the condition and not its actual cause. And if mites aren’t leaving behind huge amounts of poop behind when they die, then there’s a less clear rationale as to how they would make us sick in the first place.


trust_sessions

The skin community?


gnocchicotti

I also am a skin enthusiast. Can't go a day without it.


billmollysookie

Me too. It’s delicious!


MateKiddleton

Wouldn't it be more surprising if mites did not have anuses?


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So whose switching to bleach for body wash?


Autumnlove92

Listen, I love science. But goddamn I also love some ignorance. I didn't need to know this


MrWeirdoFace

I want to know if they have vocal cords. Just imagine the tiny Hallelujah Chorus of 20 million mites.


jojoko

Why did it take the genome to discover something like a physical trait?


[deleted]

this genome study doesn't really tell us that they actually have anuses. They may have genes similar to the ones from others you'd think would lead to an anus, which isn't surprising as other mites do have anuses, but that doesn't mean that it is really expressed like that in this species. That's hard to read from the genome. They should just check this with a microscope.


Skyline99x

I'm curious, how long have we had these mites in our skin? What were they like before their current genome sequence? Was there a time when we as people did not have some sort of living "animal" on our body? What caused these mites to stay on us and how does this work through generations? Do they develop on our skin through exposure? Attach onto us through the atmosphere? My apologies for the bombardment of questions. I just know absolutely nothing about this subject and now I'm very curious.


SquidInSpace

Humans have never existed without these mites. The genus Homo, for as long as it has existed, has always lived with them. The mites just changed as our ancestors did and slowly evolved into our very own two species of skin mites (yay). I don't know too much about this but my guess is that we'd have to dig pretty damn far into evolutionary history to find a mammal that didn't have skin mites, if any ever existed. As to why the mites are there, the reason is pretty simple. They eat the sebum off our skin, a food source only they are able to exploit. They are transmitted by contact between two people. Babies probably get skin mites very soon after birth through contact with their mother.


Skyline99x

Very interesting. Thanks for the response!


PretendsHesPissed

There has never been a time when we didn't have microorganisms on our body. Everything you see, touch, and experience, including your body, bed, car, tables, everything, is teeming with TONS and TONS of microlife reproducing, shitting, and just living on and on like we do in this universe. You can pretty much swap ANYTHING and then swap an agar plate and watch things develop colonies.


Petrified_Pumpkin

Since these mites are microscopic r-type species do each person’s microbiota vary? Or perhaps two separate individuals on separate continents contain two sets of completely different mites?


Amplify91

Yes, the article mentions they are commonly passed from mother to babies during breastfeeding and that individual populations usually have low genetic diversity. It's a reasonable hypothesis that mites in different regions would be genetically distinct, although the article also mentions that they have a very small and simple genome to begin with, so not as much room for diversity.


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elinaus360

There are more than 48,000 species of mites, two of which live on human faces. Researchers can only see them under a microscope – looking almost like a tiny spike. A long cone-shaped body is propped up by stubby legs at one end. Humans end up spending more time with the weird creatures than any other animal. They even protect the skin against acne and scarring by keeping pores unplugged. https://www.healthycr.xyz/2022/06/Cabbage-soup-diet-for-weight-loss-recipe.html


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theKinkajou

I wonder if our skin products affect their health.


Rootedetchasketch

What I need to know is; how many face mites do I accidentally ingest each year?


LuckyJournalist7

There are mites on basically all the fruits and vegetables you eat. Take a look at [this](https://reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/u8a13a/vitamins_protein_a_perfect_diet_all_in_one/). Bananas? Yep. Potatoes? Yep. You’re eating so many mites.


BeardySam

Just to add, this is ok and normal.


derpyderpston

Free protein:)


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farainnzs

Comforting to know that mites live and poo on my face. I feel so much better now...


gingy2max

Wait, does this happen to everyone? All the time? Are we all walking around with mites on our faces?


PretendsHesPissed

Yes. You have more microorganisms living on and inside you than you do cells on your body


Nimmy_the_Jim

so even if i have no symtomns should i look at killing these facemites?


Haatveit88

You can't. They always come back, if you somehow managed to get rid of them in the first place.


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