UCF Professor of Biology Barbara Sharanowski studies the phylogenetic systematics of parasitic wasps, a method of classification of organisms based on their shared evolutionary history and relationships. Her research served as the foundation and concept for the game./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/nThe game was created by computer science senior students as part of their capstone project under the supervision of Associate Lecturer of Computer Science Matthew Gerber, with Sharanowski providing the concept. It represents the second phase of development, with an earlier senior group of students building the original concept and the second group advancing it into a fully playable desktop version./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cThe students coded, designed and refined the game, which was initially envisioned as a virtual reality experience but shifted to a desktop game due to delays from the COVID-19 pandemic,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d Sharanowski says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
In the game, players take on the role of scientists tasked with protecting a national park by designing custom wasps to control invasive pests./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cThe goal as a scientist is to save the park by releasing specially designed wasps with beneficial features like paralytic venom, long ovipositors or even mind control, that make them more effective at targeting host species such as caterpillars, beetles and aphids,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/nIn the new educational game, players take on the role of environmental protectors, customizing parasitic wasps to control pests in a national park and help maintain healthy ecosystems./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/nAlong the way, players encounter educational blurbs that explain these traits and reinforce the idea that not all wasps sting and many are actually beneficial to humans and ecosystems./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cThese wasps can be endoparasitic, developing inside their host, or ectoparasitic, developing outside the host,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d Sharanowski says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cYou can find them all around the world, including in our backyards, and they serve an important role in nature as natural agents of pest control, thereby reducing the need for pesticides./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
The project was funded through the U.S. National Science Foundation/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u2019s (NSF) Rules of Life Initiative, which brings together multiple NSF divisions to address the fundamental questions about how living systems function and evolve./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/nA female wasp points its ovipositor at a moth. This organ allows them to deposit eggs in or on a host. The wasp larva emerges and feeds on the host, eventually killing it. (Photo courtesy of Ian Alexander /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072// Creative Commons)/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/nAccording to Sharanowski, parasitic wasps are one of the most varied lineages on Earth, with more species than all vertebrates combined./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cFor every insect that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u2019s out there, there/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u2019s likely one or more parasitic wasps that attack it,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
Her research explores the unique symbiosis between wasps and viruses./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cOver time, some viruses have become integrated into the genomes of certain parasitic wasps, effectively making the virus and wasp a single organism,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d Sharanowski says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cThe virus no longer replicates independently /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u2014 its reproduction is tied to the wasp/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u2019s. When a female wasp lays an egg inside a host, the virions enter the host and activate viral genes that manipulate the host/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u2019s immune system and behavior, benefiting the developing wasp./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
This wasp-virus relationship has evolved multiple times and remains a central focus of her research./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
As a first-generation college graduate, Sharanowski says this project has been a way to share her passion for entomology and science, as well as to provide educational opportunities for people to learn about wasps in a fun way./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cOne of my core values as an educator is to make science engaging,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cI enjoy doing campus and community outreach to show how fascinating these insects are, and I believe this game does that./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
She also highlighted UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u2019s Collection of Arthropods, commonly known as the Bug Closet, as a public resource preserving and showcasing the biodiversity of insects in Central Florida./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/nLooking ahead, Sharanowski says a third group of students is currently working on a mobile version of the game, expected to launch later this year./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201cThere is so much beauty out there, and I want people to see how fascinating bugs are and the important role they play in ecosystems,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/u201d she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Crawling Dead, an interdisciplinary project that was released on PC gaming platform Steam last week, aims to educate players about the benefits of parasitic wasps in natural environments./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":149133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,23,24],"tags":[17069,488,10790,982,1045,8703,12124,1584,54285],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-149072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-research","category-science-technology","tag-barbara-sharanowski","tag-biology","tag-bug-closet","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-computer-science","tag-department-of-biology","tag-department-of-computer-science","tag-environment","tag-matthew-gerber"],"yoast_head":"/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/nBiology Professor, Computer Science Students Create Teaching Game About Parasitic Wasps | 女仆AV News/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/149072/n