Zombie" Ants
"... A parasitic fungus is turning ants in Thailand into "zombies," and now scientists have a better idea how and when the infection does its gruesome work.
The fungus, a species of Ophiocordyceps, targets carpenter ants living high in Thailand's rain forest canopy. The parasite hijacks the ants' nervous systems, causing the insects to perform abnormal—and oddly specific—behaviors that help the fungus reproduce.
(Related pictures: "'Zombie' Ants Controlled, Decapitated by Flies.")
In a new study, researchers used microscopes to peer inside affected ants and see how the infection progresses. The team found that the growing fungus slowly fills the ant's body and head, causing muscles to waste away and muscle fibers to spread apart.
It takes about three to nine days from initial infection for the ants to become completely zombified, the team found. At first, the infected ants go about their normal business, residing in their nests, interacting with other ants, and even feeding..."
P/s : Zombie is fucking exist ! What ? It just an insect zombie ? That's just the beginning ! :O JK. For me, it just a funny fact with the scientific term, muhahaha But they can be 'modified' into dead-army man though O.o Na'a..too much Left for Dead game,haha
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