True fact, this natural phenomenon is part of the inspiration for the hit movie World War Z. There is a
terrifying problem for ants that would be catastrophic if it ever occurred in
humans, or any higher lifeform for that matter. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is
a fungus with a terrifying life story. In order for it to complete a full life
cycle (germination, growth, production, death) it literally takes over a living
ant and forces it to march to an ideal place in order to ensure the
continuation of its kind.
Once the ant
comes in contact with the spores, it becomes a host. The fungus uses enzymes
and pressure to work its way into the ants body After about 14 days of growing
and manifesting itself, the fungus has complete control of the host and
produces chemicals to change the ants behavior. The ant will leave its colony (generally
in the forest canopy), and head towards the ground before attaching itself by a
death grip ( using its mandibles)to a leaf. This is when the ant is close to
death, the fungus will then literally grow out the back of the ant’s head where
it will produce “seeds” which will become airborne and infect the next victim.
Humans breathe in millions of spores of fungi a day, yet our
immune systems generally filter them out leaving us unharmed. Yet nature has
proven its ability to adapt thousands of times. Imagine the possibilities if
this particular fungi becomes capable of bypassing our defenses! Scientists have only now begun to understand
precisely how this fungus overtakes the ant and makes it do its will. Maybe science should consider the
possibilities of similar infections occurring in mammals.
Scientists are only now researching this natural phenomena, yet have already discovered it on various continents. If this fungi is so widespread, that means it is already very capable of adapting. I am not saying that zombies will just pop up or anything, but the idea is still terrifying.
“This image from the scientific paper shows a micrograph of
an infected ant's head. It's the state of the ant's head when it bit down on
the leaf, while it was still alive. Small grey blobs filling the head and
mandible are the fungus. "PPG" is the postpharyngeal gland,
"B" is the brain, "Mu" are muscles, and "Cu" is
the cuticle (outer body of the ant). The small image in the lower left shows a
close-up of what muscle would look like in a healthy ant. The small image in
the lower right shows a close-up of the infected ant's muscle, right after it
bit down on the leaf. The blobs between the muscle fibers are fungal cells.”
This is horrifying. So much for sleep
ReplyDeleteDon't worry David, this is what all of your gun traing has been for.
DeleteWorld War Z is one of my favorite movies so I had to read this. What a fascinating, yet terrifying article! It would be really interesting to follow up in a couple months to see what scientists have discovered in regards to this issue. Hopefully we will be able to control the fungus promptly before it becomes too widespread as you mentioned earlier. I like how you pointed out nature's ability to adapt, too. Seeing as though this has only, as far as I know, affected the ant population, its easy to shrug off. But in reality, I feel this is only the beginning to something that could become out of control if not researched further. I was always been aware that fungi can deteriorate their hosts, but I haven't read about one being able to literally take over an organisms mind! Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I've never heard of anything like this. I don't think this is something we can just let go as of now, not only because of the effects this fungus might have on humans, but the effects it is having on ants. Sure, there a billions of ants in the world, but they actually do contribute to the environment. Ants recycle and return dead organic matter to the earth, and some species are relied on to disperse seeds of plants. Ants are very important to the ecosystem. But out of all this, the scariest part is how you reminded us that nature can adapt in almost any situation, meaning that this may someday be a plausible threat to humans. Although this is very possible, I do think that at this point, the technology and knowledge we have today would be sufficient to protect us from something like this, and by the time the fungus might get around to adapting, who knows how advanced we'll be in this area?
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty terrifying to be honest. Diseases have been able to mutate from animal to animal,and I would not be surprised if this fungus could adapt to control other species, but that would come with time, or technology. In the wrong hands with an ample amount of power, money, and research ability, this could be used as a biological weapon and create a "zombie" apocalypse. So far, though, the ants have not started to eat each other, so we are good for hopefully another 1,000 or so years. If I were extreme enough, I would suggest eliminating the fungus because of its potential dangers, but that would ruin the ecosystem the fungus is present in, and may create more problems in the future. You may not have mentioned where this fungus is located, but I hope it is not anywhere in South Carolina, or I will have to move.
ReplyDeleteI saw the title of your article and knew that I had to find out more. As much as I loved the movie I would never want something like it to occur in real life. Yet, here is an article proving that what I fear is actually happening. I am curious to know if ants are the only creatures being infected or if there are others?
ReplyDelete