'Zombie ants' controlled by parasitic fungus for 48m years - Polidicks

[quote]The oldest evidence of a fungus that turns ants into zombies and makes them stagger to their death has been uncovered by scientists. The gruesome hallmark of the fungus's handiwork was found on the leaves of plants that grew in Messel, near Darmstadt in Germany, 48m years ago. The finding shows that parasitic fungi evolved the ability to control the creatures they infect in the distant past, even before the rise of the Himalayas. The fungus, which is alive and well in forests today, latches on to carpenter ants as they cross the forest floor before returning to their nests high in the canopy. The fungus grows inside the ants and releases chemicals that affect their behaviour. Some ants leave the colony and wander off to find fresh leaves on their own, while others fall from their tree-top havens on to leaves nearer the ground. The final stage of the parasitic death sentence is the most macabre. In their last hours, infected ants move towards the underside of the leaf they are on and lock their mandibles in a "death grip" around the central vein, immobilising themselves and locking the fungus in position. "This can happen en masse. You can find whole graveyards with 20 or 30 ants in a square metre. Each time, they are on leaves that are a particular height off the ground and they have bitten into the main vein before dying," said David Hughes at Harvard University. The fungus cannot grow high up in the canopy or on the forest floor, but infected ants often die on leaves midway between the two, where the humidity and temperature suit the fungus. Once an ant has died, the fungus sprouts from its head and produces a pod of spores, which are fired at night on to the forest floor, where they can infect other ants. Scientists led by Hughes noticed that ants infected with the fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, bit into leaves with so much force they left a lasting mark. The holes created by their mandibles either side of the leaf vein are bordered by scar tissue, producing an unmistakable dumb-bell shape. Writing in the journal, Biology Letters, the team describes how they trawled a database of images that document leaf damage by insects, fungi and other organisms. They found one image of a 48m-year-old leaf from the Messel pit that showed the distinctive "death grip" markings of an infected ant. At the time, the Messel area was thick with subtropical forests. "We now present it as the first example of behavioural manipulation and probably the only one which can be found. In most cases, this kind of control is spectacular but ephemeral and doesn't leave any permanent trace," Hughes said. "The question now is, what are the triggers that push a parasite not just to kill its host, but to take over its brain and muscles and then kill it." He added: "Of all the parasitic organisms, only a few have evolved this trick of manipulating their host's behaviour. Why go to the bother? Why are there not more of them?" Scientists are not clear how the fungus controls the ants it infects, but know that the parasite releases alkaloid chemicals into the insect as it consumes it from the inside.[/quote] source: [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/aug/18/zombie-carpenter-ant-fungus?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter[/url] :eek: I was amazed when i read this...its fucking awesome imo i forgot the pic but here: [IMG]http://i33.tinypic.com/w6yybr.jpg[/IMG] its an ant with the fungus

That's pretty cool. Poor ants.

Of course, the old ant zombie fungus dealio. Pretty creepy, but thank god it only affects ants. If it affected humans... Let's just say it'd be a crazy horror story.

Now watch as someone figures out how to make this work on humans and causes the apocalypse in 2012. [editline]08:59PM[/editline] [QUOTE=ironman17;24188999]Of course, the old ant zombie fungus dealio. Pretty creepy, but thank god it only affects ants. If it affected humans... Let's just say it'd be a crazy horror story.[/QUOTE] motherfuk

Here is what zombie ants looks like once they die completely. [IMG]http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/assets/2010/08/16/sn-fungus.jpg[/IMG]

Harness this, patent bomb. Sell. Billionaire.

I wonder if the ants were once a mighty race that tried to make a mind control fungus but failed. So they're society collapsed and we thought nothing of it. For all we know, the same could happen to us. :tinfoil:

I for one welcome our new "Mind Controlling Fungus Overlords".

[quote=mikesword221;24189234]i wonder if the ants were once a mighty race that tried to make a mind control fungus but failed. So they're society collapsed and we thought nothing of it. For all we know, the same could happen to us. :tinfoil:[/quote] :350:

[QUOTE=Mikesword221;24189234]I wonder if the ants were once a mighty race that tried to make a mind control fungus but failed. So they're society collapsed and we thought nothing of it. For all we know, the same could happen to us. :tinfoil:[/QUOTE] Ants will get lost if a stick falls in between their line. They were never a mighty race.

[QUOTE=Omali;24189323]Ants will get lost if a stick falls in between their line. They were never a mighty race.[/QUOTE] yea but they're hella quick to assemble back and form a new one

[QUOTE=Omali;24189323]Ants will get lost if a stick falls in between their line. They were never a mighty race.[/QUOTE] I didn't know facepunch had its very own ant sociologist.

[img]http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/thumb/8/80/047Parasect.png/160px-047Parasect.png[/img]

[i]Fooooooooooooooddddddddddd[/i] [i]leaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaveeeeeeees[/i]

Holy shit O_O

somebody should make a horror movie on this

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8[/media] Related

Film plot right here. Actually now I think of it, a film about getting bitten to death by enraged zombie ants would be pretty creepy :ohdear:

Assuming control of this body.

I hope there's a planet of giant ants we can fight in a war some day. Or crabs, giant fucking crabs.

Reminds me of this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCYz97gZ9XQ[/media] A fungus controlling anything parasitically is extremely freaky.

[QUOTE=Zee!;24191907][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8[/media] Related[/QUOTE] What the fuck, the fungus grows out of it? :barf:

This infecting humans was the plot to The Happening wasn't it?

Thats some pretty scary shit. :ohdear:

[QUOTE=Wyvers;24191951]Film plot right here. Actually now I think of it, a film about getting bitten to death by enraged zombie ants would be pretty creepy :ohdear:[/QUOTE] Actually more so than any bullshit virus it could make a genuinely realistic plot for a zombie movie.

Is it just more or do most ant species already have a basic tribal system down? They are smart enough to drag away the infected ants. Once humanity is gone, ants will take over. [B]Edit: [/B]After watching this I no longer have any doubts. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A042J0IDQK4&feature=channel[/media]

This is very interesing and creepy.

Don't flukes do the same thing?

[QUOTE=skparagon;24192326]This infecting humans was the plot to The Happening wasn't it?[/QUOTE] Yeah, but using long, complicated deaths instead of us just biting onto the trunk of a tree..

Emu's stick their heads into the ground. And have suicide tendancies.