Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Move over virulent zombies

Fungal zombies are here, and they're killing off ants.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0510/Zombie-ants-How-fungus-can-turn-an-insect-into-a-puppet?cmpid=addthis_hotmail&sms_ss=hotmail&at_xt=4dcaa287a7f14721%2C0

If that doesn't freak you out, nothing will.

It makes perfect sense though.  One of the researchers leaves out some of the fungus in the lab, it gets out and onto the skin of one of the other researchers.  This unwittingly poor man lives his life as normal for the next few weeks while the fungus builds up in his body, finally he ends up with weird growths on his head and he stumbles around like he's drunk all the time.  He's unable to talk but still manages enough brain control to try... groaning in the process.  The fungus takes control of his muscles and forces him to grab onto other people and bite down on them in order to further the propagation of the fungus.  Finally, after weeks or months (remember, these things happen in a day with ants, they would take much longer with people), he lays down and dies in the place best for the fungus to reproduce which would be wherever the most people would be.  After he dies his head bursts open with zombie fungus and the cycle begins anew.

Like I said, this should freak you out and especially so because it's real.  The only bright spot of this report is that global warming could be killing off this fungus.  I think I'm going to go start my car and let it run for a few hours....

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