'Zombie' Parasite Cordyceps Fungus Takes Over Insects Through Mind Control | National Geographic

less than 1m read

·Nov 11, 2024

Fungi and slime molds race to decompose dead matter on the forest floor. Many spread by releasing spores up to thirty thousand a second. (scary music)

If just one of these spores lands in the right place, and takes root, it can colonize a whole new area. (scary music)

But not all fungi feed on the dead. (scary music) Days ago, a spore landed on this ant, now she's acting strange. A network of roots has infiltrated her muscles. Her body has been taken over by cordyceps, a parasitic fungus. It floods her brain with chemicals, drugging her, compelling her to head where conditions are perfect. (scary music)

Just the right amount of light. Just the right amount of humidity for the parasite growing inside. It forces her to clamp down in a death bite. And cordyceps reveals its gruesome nature. (scary music)

After three weeks of growth, cordyceps can release its own spores. Infecting more ants. Releasing more spores. Infecting more ants. Releasing more spores. Infecting more ants. Infecting more ants. More ants. More ants. More ants. (scary music)

Cordyceps can wipe out entire ant colonies. But more than just ants are at risk. (scary music)

There are over six hundred species of cordyceps spread across the world. Most are found in jungles where they prey on a whole host of victims. (scary music)

Leafcutter Ants Slice Leaves for the Colony | A Real Bug's Life | National Geographic

Solving two-step word problems with decimals (adding and subtracting) | Khan Academy

View All

Signs You are Moving From Middle Class to Wealthy

You know, it’s easy to tell when someone moves up from middle class, when you know the signs you see. It’s not just about the bank balance. It’s a complete overhaul of your life’s blueprint. Here are ten clear signs you’re moving from middle class to wea…

How to Slow Aging (and even reverse it)

Part of this video is sponsored by LastPass. More about LastPass at the end of the show. This is a video about research into slowing the rate of aging and extending the human lifespan. So, before I filmed this, I wanted to know: What do you guys generall…

Multiply monomials by polynomials: Area model | Algebra 1 | Khan Academy

We are told a rectangle has a height of five and a width of three x squared minus x plus two. Then we’re told to express the area of the entire rectangle, and the expression should be expanded. So pause this video and see if you can work through this. Al…

Squeezing Through Rocky Caves to Find Ancient Skeletons | Expedition Raw

I was the first scientist to go into the cave. Once the actual remains had been discovered, I looked down and just thought, “Oh really, I may perhaps have bitten off more than I can chew.” But you know, at the same time, the excitement of what we were abo…

Derivatives of inverse functions | Advanced derivatives | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy

So let’s say I have two functions that are the inverse of each other. So I have f of x, and then I also have g of x, which is equal to the inverse of f of x, and f of x would be the inverse of g of x as well. If the notion of an inverse function is comple…

The Market Is About To Go INSANE

What’s up Graham? It’s guys here. So, in the midst of a new variant, a rollercoaster stock market, and the reveal that inflation may no longer be transitionary, there’s a chance that the entire market could soon be preparing for a topic that no one could …

'Zombie' Parasite Cordyceps Fungus Takes Over Insects Through Mind Control | National Geographic

More Articles