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Why are cockroaches so hard to kill? - Ameya Gondhalekar

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In ancient Egypt, there was a spell that declared, “Be far from me, O vile cockroach.” Thousands of years later, we’re still trying to oust these insects. But from poison traps to brandished slippers, cockroaches seem to weather just about everything we throw at them. So, what makes cockroaches so hard to kill? Ameya Gondhalekar digs into the genetic wonders of this troublingly tenacious creature.

Of the nearly 5000 species of cockroaches described by taxonomists and entomologists thus far, only a few dozen are considered as pests of human-made structures. Why do you think only a few species have adapted to live in close association with humans?

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Ameya Gondhalekar
  • Director Irida Zhonga
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Irida Zhonga
  • Animator Hoda Ramy, Gabriela Sibilska, Kostas Firinidis
  • Character Designer Kostas Firinidis, Christos Papandreopoulos
  • Background Artist Christos Papandreopoulos, Kostas Firinidis
  • Music Phil Brookes
  • Sound Designer Phil Brookes
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Cella Wright
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Julia Dickerson

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