Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, a Really Long Way to Say “Zombie-Ant Fungus”
Want to never sleep again? Imagine an ant. Now imagine all the muscles, nerves, and organs inside that tiny thing. Now imagine an even tinier spore colony propagating inside that tiny little ant. That’s Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, and that’s what we’re here to talk about today.
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Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/how-the-zombie-fungus-takes-over-ants-bodies-to-control-their-minds/545864/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/04/cordyceps-zombie-fungus-takes-over-ants/#close
https://www.livescience.com/47751-zombie-fungus-picky-about-ant-brains.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/science/ant-zombies-fungus.html?auth=login-email&login=email
https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2014/09/17/zombifying-fungi/
https://www.uksafari.com/curse_of_the_zombie_spiders.htm#:~:text=It’s%20an%20entomopathogenic%20fungus%2C%20which,rapidly%20infect%20other%20spiders%20nearby
https://whatifshow.com/what-if-you-were-infected-by-the-cordyceps-fungus/