Channel: Wisdom Unfolded

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Description: Mushrooms That Turn You Into Zombie Subscribe Now goo.gl/Xhcsq8 The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus has just one goal: self-propagation and dispersal. Researchers think the fungus, found in tropical forests, infects a foraging ant through spores that attach and penetrate the exoskeleton and slowly take over its behavior. As the infection advances, the enthralled ant is compelled to leave its nest for a more humid microclimate that’s favorable to the fungus’s growth. The ant is compelled to descend to a vantage point about 10 inches off the ground, sink its jaws into a leaf vein on the north side of a plant, and wait for death. Meanwhile, the fungus feeds on its victim’s innards until it’s ready for the final stage. Several days after the ant has died, the fungus sends a fruiting body out through the base of the ant’s head, turning its shriveled corpse into a launchpad from which it can jettison its spores and infect new ants. “It definitely speaks to the imagination of both scientists and the general public,” says Charissa de Bekker, a University of Central Florida professor who studies parasite-host interactions that lead to behavioral manipulations. As in zombie lore, there’s an incubation period where infected ants appear perfectly normal and go about their business undetected by the rest of the colony. That’s unusual because social insects like ants usually have something called social immunity: Sick members get kicked out of the group to prevent the rest from getting sick too. “We think the ants don’t really have a mechanism to get rid of Ophiocordyceps,” de Bekker says. While the infection is 100 percent lethal, the goal isn’t to convert all the ants into the walking dead. For ecosystems to stay balanced, fungi have to keep host populations in check. In fact, only a few ants in a colony are infected at any given time. “It’s almost like a chronic cold,” de Bekker says. And perhaps in the biggest deviation from the zombie playbook, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis doesn’t seem to invade the brain. ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ Follow and Like Me ☀ Twitter : twitter.com/iarslanpk ☀ Facebook: facebook.com/iarslanpk ☀ Instagram: instagram.com/iarslanpk ☀ Visit Our Website sabparho.com ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ☀ If you found this video valuable, give it a like 👍 . ☀ If you know someone who needs to watch it, share it ↪️. ☀ Leave a comment below with your thoughts ✍. ☀ Add it to a playlist if you want to watch it later 🔄.