Real-World Zombie

Maybe a virus or some kind of paranormal occurrence triggers the zombie apocalypse. The ensuing zombies might move swiftly but are more readily stunned, or they might move slowly and can only be killed by a direct hit to the head. These zombies are smart, right? Or are they clumsy and ill-mannered, as I contend every true zombie must be?

Despite the variation offered by zombie lore, all zombie stories revolve around the reanimation of the dead. The movements of the body are controlled by a brain that is no longer in charge. But why do these distinctions really matter? Everything is merely filler for science fiction horror films, right? We've already covered scientific research on the potential spread of a zombie-like virus as well as human neurobehavioral diseases that cause victims to resemble several essential zombie characteristics. It seems that science has more to say about zombies than previously thought.

DEADWOOD CARPENTER ANTS

Carpenter ants may be seen trapped in an endless dance as an alien stalk grows through their heads in the Brazilian bush, about 10 inches or so off the ground, with their mouths fixed on a leaf. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, often known as the zombie ant fungus, is to blame for the deaths of these ants.

The fungus initially manifests as solitary cells that travel through the bloodstream of an ant, but these cells quickly start to replicate and, more critically, form connections with one another so that they can share nutrition. The ophiocordyceps fungus differs from other fungi in that it eventually forms networks that encircle the ant's muscles in addition to killing off its host.

The fungus gains control of the ant's body as the fungus' network spreads. It's intriguing that this network doesn't seem to extend to the ant's brain. Entomologists are unsure whether the fungus takes a more sinister approach by leaving the ant's brain alone to witness the rest of the takeover but cutting off any muscle control, and thus the brain's ability to stop it, or if it releases chemicals that affect the ant's brain from a distance, effectively killing it as far as the ant is concerned.

In either case, the ant is forced to leave its colony and climb a neighboring plant in order to reach the exact altitude above the forest floor where the humidity and temperature are ideal for the fungus to thrive. The ant is then made to bite into a leaf in order to hold its spot and never move evermore.

The fungus is still active, though. With its host in the ideal location, the fungus creates a stalk that penetrates the ant's head and releases spores, which then fall on the ants below and capture more victims.

The ability to control a host in order to best serve one's own interests is not unique to the zombie ant fungus. For instance, a particular kind of flatworm first invades the brains of California killifish in an effort to enter host birds, causing them to display "conspicuous swimming movements" that make them more susceptible to assaults from those birds. But it does demonstrate a hitherto unknown capacity to adapt to many climates.

As I previously stated, by biting on a leaf, the Brazilian flavor of the fungus instructs its host ants to hover around 25 centimeters over the jungle floor. It takes one to two months to create all of the stalks and spores needed to disseminate the fungus to other ants. The ants are found clinging to twigs in trees several feet off the ground in milder climes, such as South Carolina and Japan. The zombified ant must withstand a winter season in which a leaf may fall to the ground but a twig will persist since in these conditions the spores take over a year to disperse.

David Hughes and Raquel Gontijo de Loreto of Penn State, the researchers leading the project, received a great deal of assistance from Kim Fleming, a citizen scientist who meticulously recorded the infestation of zombie ants that reside on her South Carolina property. The fungus strain that infected her ants is now known as Ophiocordyceps kimflemingiae, which is a highly unusual claim to fame.

It is anticipated that the climate change that led to this particular adaption took place in the distant past. But what does this signify for the modern climate that is undergoing fast change? What adaptation will we witness next if the fungus is cunning enough to change its plans to account for the seasons?