Hordes of brain-munching undead terrorizing neighborhoods make for fun television and movies, but zombies could never be real... or could they?
Other
Nov 1, 2019
2
285
Zombie ants clamp on to aerial vegetation and hang for months spewing the spores of their parasitic fungi, but researchers noticed that they do not always clamp on to the same part of the plant. Now the researchers know that ...
Plants & Animals
May 29, 2018
0
346
Researchers from McGill University have revealed the steps by which two very distinct organisms—bacteria and carpenter ants—have come to depend on one another for survival to become a single complex life form. The study, ...
Evolution
Sep 2, 2020
0
1628
Tropical carpenter ants (Camponotus leonardi) live high up in the rainforest canopy. When infected by a parasitic fungus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) the behaviour of the ants is dramatically changed. They become erratic ...
Plants & Animals
May 9, 2011
4
0
Ants can be annoying little insects. In your home, they make army-like lines to any crumbs on your floor. In your home's frame, carpenter ants can do a job of eating away your walls. But what about outside? Do ants play a ...
Environment
Mar 22, 2017
0
26
A study in the September issue of The American Naturalist describes new details about a fungal parasite that coerces ants into dying in just the right spot -- one that is ideal for the fungus to grow and reproduce. The study, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 11, 2009
6
0
Oregon State University research has identified the oldest known specimen of a fungus parasitizing an ant, and the fossil also represents a new fungal genus and species.
Ecology
Jun 22, 2021
0
27
You've probably heard about poop pills, the latest way for humans to get benevolent bacteria into their guts. But it seems that a group of ants may have been the original poop pill pioneers—46 million years ago.
Plants & Animals
Mar 6, 2018
0
211
(Phys.org) —While unraveling a dramatic case of mind control, biologist David Hughes is taking calls from Hollywood—and gaining new insights into the role behavior plays in spreading disease.
Plants & Animals
May 22, 2013
0
0
If it's thoughts of zombies that keep you awake at night, you shouldn't be worried about zombie humans; it's the carpenter ants (Camponotus castaneus) that should concern you most. When infected by a specialised fungus (Ophiocordyceps ...
Ecology
Jul 18, 2019
0
17
