Loot+Crate+Magazine+January+2016

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LC EXCLUSIVE CONTENT EVERY DAY INVADERS By Tamara Brooks Most think about invaders as coming from space or another dimension but there are hidden marauders all throughout nature. Some have gained some notoriety (like Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, aka the Zombie Ant Fungus, which inspired the infected in The Last of Us), but there are far more among us than we realize. Various Ivy Hedera Helix (aka English Ivy) and Kudzu are the two most famous examples of these rapidly growing encroachers. They grow fast (about 1 foot a day) and high (up to 100 feet), often blanketing trees and buildings in addition to covering a lot of ground. What makes them so dangerous is that, in addition to outgrowing native plants and hindering them immensely, they can take root in trees, weakening them against storms and diseases as well as blanketing them or forming a canopy, effectively blocking out the sunlight they need to grow. INVASION 12 Silver Carp in the Great Lakes One of nine fishes known collectively as Asian carp, silver carp were
first imported in 1973 by a private fish farmer in Arkansas. By the late ‘70s, they had been stocked at several private and governmental water-related facilities to help control algae growth. Twenty years later, the fish spread to 12 different states including Michigan and Illinois via the Mississippi River and today is causing a huge problem environmentally. Silver carp eat a tremendous amount of food, primarily plankton, which means there’s not enough for native creatures, and they have no natural predators which has allowed their population to explode. They can also launch themselves out of the water when startled (earning the nickname “flying fish”) which has lead to many injuries to assorted water-goers. Unsuspecting people have received broken noses, jaws, and vertebrae as well as concussions by these agile invaders. Electric fences have been installed along the Great Lakes to prevent them from spreading further but, like any good invader, even that may not be enough to contain them. Castrator Barnacles This little creature not only affects the mind of a crab, it changes its body! The female larva finds a weak joint and injects itself into the crab’s body and hijacks its reproductive system, nesting and forming a sac on the underside of the crab’s rear thorax where its eggs would normally be. Then the male comes and fertilizes the barnacle eggs, triggering the crab’s maternal instinct causing it to care for and hatch the eggs. If you’re wondering how it got its name, when one of these barnacles infests a male crab, it will change its body chemistry to make it a more welcoming host. It triggers a shift in hormones that sterilizes it and shifts its body and mannerisms to more closely mirror females - it will even perform mating dances These barnacles also prevent crabs from molting, depriving them of nutrition and stunting their overall growth. They also lose the ability to regrow severed claws, thus making it harder to protect themselves. Influenza Virus Now we may know why people who get sick rarely stay home when they’re supposed to. In 2010, Biomedical Anthropologist Chris Reiber of Binghamton University in New York headed a study that suggested the flu makes people more social. Reiber and her colleagues found evidence that people with the flu, in this case immunization recipients, interacted with more people in larger groups in the 48-hour period immediately after exposure than before. Which means the virus has a greater opportunity to infect more people before it dooms its host to a cold-medicine-induced quasicoma. Devious! 13 LOOT CRATE MAGAZINE
Page 1 and 2: L C M A G A Z I N E HOW TO SURVIVE
Page 3 and 4: INVASION We’re kicking off 2016 w
Page 5 and 6: 4 ft. tall! 3 LOOT CRATE MAGAZINE
Page 7 and 8: SNEEZE OFTEN Hygiene is no longer a
Page 9 and 10: During cataclysmic events, everythi
Page 11 and 12: WALTER SKINNER They both work for t
Page 13: 11 LOOT CRATE MAGAZINE
Page 17 and 18: MIX & MASHUP MATCH THESE INVADERS W
Page 19 and 20: THE INVASION IS NOW By Lola Binkerd
Page 21: THE ART IS OUT THERE The X-Files is
Page 24 and 25: Download Artwork at: http://loot.cr
Page 26 and 27: EXCLUSIVE ALIEN FACEHUGGER PLUSH (K
Page 28 and 29: EXCLUSIVE THE FIFTH ELEMENT PROP RE
Page 30 and 31: EXCLUSIVE X-FILES LED FLASHLIGHT (L
Page 32: WE LOVE YOU

Loot+Crate+Magazine+January+2016

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