Zombies: A reality

Smash your staircases and head to the nearest oil rig, the dead walk. I came across this recent article on a fungus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) which infects it's carpenter ant victims turning them into the living dead. The fungus takes over the ant's nervous system, infecting muscle and brain tissue giving the ant a "stumbling" gait. The parasitic fungus controls the ant to seek out a certain type of leaf, once there the fungal controller instructs the ant to bite down hard with it's mandibles (known as "the death grip"). Once securely fastened to the leaf the ant finally dies, and the fungus sprouts a long fruiting body (stick-like) with a spore loaded pod. More fungal spores are then released to go on and infect the next carpenter ant victim.

Scary stuff...

A reference to the original paper can be found here http://earthsky.org/biodiversity/fungus-turns-tropical-carpenter-ants-into-the-walking-dead

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Common Science

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