Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Zombie Ants

According to Live Science, experts are still baffled as to how a fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis can take command of an ant's brain, turning it into one of the walking dead and guiding it to the perfect spot to spread more spores... which it does by exploding out of the ant's body. 
A 2009 study published in American Naturalist revealed that the ants, once infected by the fungus, will journey precisely toward certain plants near the forest floor – a location where the conditions are best for the fungus to reproduce – and even latch onto the leaves just before dying, in order to provide a secure spot for the fungus to spread. This is all happening while the fungus is busy digesting the ant from the inside out.
(Source)

"Play Dead"

This sounds like it would be a great little horror short movie ... dogs vs. zombies and all of that ... if only I could get it to run on my system. Well, better luck to you.

"The most comprehensive zombie classification chart we've ever seen"

io9 has a chart by Jason Thompson showing the taxonomy of more than 350 types of zombies.

The most comprehensive zombie classification chart we've ever seen