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'Zombie ant' brains left intact by fungal parasite

phys.org

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Re: 'Zombie ant' brains left intact by fungal parasite

#22

Post by pc86 »

thunderbong wrote: post #16
zaarn wrote: post #2

>"Normally in animals, behavior is controlled by the brain sending signals to the muscles, but our results suggest that the parasite is controlling host behavior peripherally," Hughes said. "Almost like a puppeteer pulls the strings to make a marionette move, the fungus controls the ant's muscles to manipulate the host's legs and mandibles." Probably the most "And I Must Scream" moment in mother nature. Imagine a hum…

Honest question - Is this truly different from what social networks can do to gullible people? Or from what religion had been doing for centuries?

Yes, a fungus literally working an ant like a puppet is different than Facebook or Catholicism.

Re: 'Zombie ant' brains left intact by fungal parasite

#23

Post by gabaix »

Grangar wrote: post #5

Look at this picture of the final stage, after the 'stalk' sprouts from the ants head. Pretty haunting. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Ophiocor...

There is a 3-minute video from BBC Planet Earth showing an infected ant and its demise. https://youtu.be/XuKjBIBBAL8

It is like watching the Alien scene, except this is real.

Re: 'Zombie ant' brains left intact by fungal parasite

#24

Post by Larrikin »

zaarn wrote: post #2

>"Normally in animals, behavior is controlled by the brain sending signals to the muscles, but our results suggest that the parasite is controlling host behavior peripherally," Hughes said. "Almost like a puppeteer pulls the strings to make a marionette move, the fungus controls the ant's muscles to manipulate the host's legs and mandibles." Probably the most "And I Must Scream" moment in mother nature. Imagine a hum…

I was always a little disappointed I had so many friends get into Harry Potter when I was younger. Animorphs explores this idea in depth, especially for a kids novel. So in depth that you eventually feel that the parasite controlling other beings can be justified in their war. It is still a kids series so many of the books are filler, but the beginnings, chronicles, and ending are very deep even when looked at through that lens. The books are easy reads as an adult and the entire 60 book series can easily be read in a month.

Re: 'Zombie ant' brains left intact by fungal parasite

#26

Post by wcoenen »

zaarn wrote: post #2

>"Normally in animals, behavior is controlled by the brain sending signals to the muscles, but our results suggest that the parasite is controlling host behavior peripherally," Hughes said. "Almost like a puppeteer pulls the strings to make a marionette move, the fungus controls the ant's muscles to manipulate the host's legs and mandibles." Probably the most "And I Must Scream" moment in mother nature. Imagine a hum…

> Imagine a human gets infected

Relevant SMBC comic: http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/fungus

Re: 'Zombie ant' brains left intact by fungal parasite

#30

Post by ajuc »

One thing I wonder about is - why would it evolve to make the ants go away from the anthill?

Surely it would be best for spreading the fungus to make them go to the anthill and die there?

It seems more like a quarantine mechanism from ants POV. The fungus would spread faster if the ant continued as usual till it died, or stayed in the anthill.

But it also helps the fungus in a way - if the ants died in the anthill the whole anthill would soon die and the fungus with it.

So - maybe the ant reaction to the infection is actually a coevolved compromise between the fungus and the anthill, that lets both survive at the cost of individual ants?

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