From The Conversation · Tara Deans · · 1m 10s
Zombies are real
Fungi and parasites manipulate insects and rodents to act against their own survival.
In brief
Fungi and parasites manipulate insects and rodents to act against their own survival. Parasites like Ophiocordyceps fungus control insect behavior without brain invasion, leading to death grip and spore dispersal. Originally reported by The Conversation.
Zombie ant fungus
The fungus Ophiocordyceps infects ants, altering their behavior to spread spores.
“The life cycle of the zombie ant fungus begins when fungal spores land on an ant.”
Death grip behavior
Infected ants bite vegetation and remain attached until death, forming a stalk for spore dispersal.
“The ant bites tightly onto a leaf, twig or other plant surface and remains attached in what researchers call a death grip.”
Fungal control mechanism
Fungal growth spreads through ant bodies without brain invasion, affecting muscle function.
“Researchers examining infected ants before death found extensive fungal growth throughout the body and around muscle fibers, but not inside the brain.”
Emerald jewel wasp
The emerald jewel wasp injects venom into cockroaches, reducing their movement drive.
“The emerald jewel wasp, Ampulex compressa, uses a very different strategy: It injects venom into a cockroach’s nervous system.”
Hairworms and crickets
Hairworms lead crickets to water, where they escape the host’s body to reproduce.
“Hairworms take behavioral manipulation one step further by leading their hosts toward their own demise.”
Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasma gondii infects rodents, making them attracted to cat odors for reproduction.
“While rodents normally avoid cat odors, those infected with the parasite can lose some of that natural aversion and even become attracted to cat odors.”
Behavioral manipulation
Parasites alter key behaviors without full brain control, using multiple body systems.
“These examples show why 'mind control' is an imperfect description of how parasites manipulate their hosts.”
Real-life zombies
Nature creates organisms that redirect behavior, without the dramatic zombie tropes of fiction.
“So biology cannot create the dancing dead of 'Thriller' or the infected humans of 'The Last of Us'.”
Scientific significance
Studying these parasites helps understand normal behavior control systems in living organisms.
“Studying these real-life zombies may help scientists understand not only how parasites manipulate their hosts, but also how normal behavior is generated and controlled in the first place.”
What it means
Parasites like Ophiocordyceps fungus control insect behavior without brain invasion, leading to death grip and spore dispersal.
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