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Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, [2] is an insect-pathogenic fungus, discovered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859. Zombie ants, infected by the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus, are predominantly found in tropical rainforests .
The premise of zombie fungus can quickly turn into a horror story when reimagined as a sci-fi creature infecting humans, such as in the HBO series “The Last of Us,” said to have been inspired ...
The ant clamps its jaws around the plant in a "death grip" and following, mycelia grow from the ant's feet and stitch them to the surface of the plant. [9] The spores released from the ant carcass fall to the ground and infect other ants that come in contact with the spores so that this cycle continues. [ 10 ]
Ants infected with the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis exhibit intricate behaviors: irregularly timed body convulsions cause the ant to drop to the forest floor, [20] from which it climbs a plant up to a certain height [21] before locking its jaws into the vein of one of its leaves answering certain criteria of direction, temperature, and ...
A disease-causing fungus featured in the post-apocalyptic TV series The Last of Us could lead to a gamechanging cancer drug, scientists say in a new study.. In the dystopian world of the TV series ...
But it can't jump to humans. According to data from Yale School of Medicine , because humans have evolved, and have a high enough body temperature, inhaling this kind of fungal spore has no effect ...
Upon the death of the host, the O. unilateralis produces a stalk-like structure erupting from the head of the dead ant from which spores are released to the peripheral environment. [12] this process enables the fungi to infect more ants and, in the process, creates high densities of dead ants in the forest environment known as 'graveyards'. [12]
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