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Zombie Ants and Killer Fungus

Posted by samzenpus on from the level-1-random-encounter dept.

nibbles2004 writes "An article in the Guardian newspaper shows how parasitic fungi evolved the ability to control ants they infect, ultimately leading the ant to its death. The fungus controls the ant's movements to a suitable leaf and causes the ant to grip onto the leaf's central stem, allowing the fungus to spore, which will allow more ants to become infected."

5 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Where's Master Chief... by ae1294 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    When you need him?

    At the strip club getting a table dance... where the hell else did you think he'd be?

  2. Re:hmm.. by i_ate_god · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're the FLORA, and what we thought was flora, IS ACTUALLY THE FAUNA

    --
    I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. Re:hmm.. by tgd · · Score: 3, Insightful

    M. Night Shiamalan will probably make a stupid movie about this.

    Well, that'd be quite a step up from his other movies, at least.

  5. Re:BBC Planet Earth shows this by tgd · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It doesn't have to induce behavior that complex -- it just has to inhibit or stimulate responses already genetically programmed into the ant.

    Its not a safe assumption that anything about the fungus is directly causing those behaviors -- there's a lot of fungus in the world, and there's a lot of species that fungus may grow on. All you need is one combination to be beneficial to the fungus, and it'll spread.