This bunny isn't that cute: But it may be paralyzed, so it sort of fits with the story.
Courtesy Franco FoliniCross reference with “cute,” “animal health,” and “cyborg.”

Yes, here at Science Buzz we tirelessly pursue any and all stories on wheeled animals for you, the Buzzketeer.

So check this out: a wheelie bunny! Oh, man!

What does this have to do with science? Um, I don’t know. Does it matter? Did you see that little bunny?

Ah, fine. It’s about animals, obviously, and animals are sort of sciencey. Health, too, I guess—Bun bun there was left paralyzed by some mystery disease. The pathology of rabbit paralysis probably isn’t a huge priority in medical research, so they don’t know exactly what happened to this bunny, but a number of conditions that affect the nervous system can result in paralysis. If you’re really into the many ways rabbits can become disabled, check out this page, but the short version is that roller-bun probably became paralyzed after a protozoal infection (protozoa, remember, are little, single-celled organisms), in particular an infection caused by the protozoan parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi. For a little bit more on encephalitozoonosis click here.

And I guess this is sort of about prosthetics too, but old-school, basic prosthetics. No Luke Skywalker limbs for paralyzed bunnies.

The main thing, again, is that picture of the bunny.

Tags : rabbit, paralysis, prosthetics, protozoa

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