Are They Becoming Part of Us?
The researchers proposed that these mites may be transitioning from being simple external organisms into obligate symbionts.
A symbiont is an organism that lives closely with another species.
An obligate symbiont is so specialized that it can no longer survive independently.
This does not mean that human DNA and mite DNA are physically merging.
Instead, it means the mites have become so dependent on humans that they are unlikely to survive anywhere else.
Their future is now closely tied to ours.
Debunking a Popular Myth
For years, one of the strangest myths about Demodex claimed that the mites had no anus.
According to this idea, they supposedly accumulated waste inside their bodies until they exploded after death, causing skin inflammation.
Modern research has shown this is incorrect.
Scientists confirmed that these mites possess a functional digestive system capable of processing and eliminating waste.
This finding overturned a long-standing misconception that had circulated for decades.
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