yego.me
yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

'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)

Safari Live - Day 114 | National Geographic
The New Era of Discovery | Explorers Fest

More Articles

View All
The People Behind the Photography | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic
Foreign [Music] To on my first visit to Indonesia in 1998. That’s John Stanmeier, a photographer at National Geographic. That year he was covering mass riots in the country triggered by economic collapse when he met someone who would change his life. I w…
The Gateway to Secret Underwater Worlds | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic
We’re in the middle of winter, so the water is very cold, and the sky was gray and the sea was gray as well, with no limit. You know, when you see the sky and the sea, the sea was very flat, and there is no limit between the sea and the sky. That’s Lauren…
How One Orphaned Gorilla Inspired Her to Save Hundreds More | National Geographic
Hunters are going in and killing large family groups. The young orphans are left because they’re too small to be sold as meat. So I’d only been here a month, and I was given the opportunity to look after an infant gorilla. The reason my whole life turned …
Making a Deal With a Cartel Boss | Locked Up Abroad
Boston is the university capital of the United States. There was a lot of rich kids who just wanted to smoke pot, and it was a perfect market for us. We felt indestructible; people were getting hired, they loved our product. [Music] Our business grew an…
You Are Not Alone
Sleep is good, death is better; yet surely never to have been born is best. These lines close a 17th century poem by German writer Hinrich Hine. The piece is titled “Death and his Brother’s Sleep.” It compares these two states, suggesting that we experien…
Ray Dalio: The World's Greatest Wealth Transfer Has Begun.
You can’t spend more than you are without getting into debt, and if you have debt, you have to pay back the debt. The only difference is you can print the money. So the question is, what ends that? Or is there no end to that? Legendary investor Ray Dalio…