🔁Mario Nawfal:
ZOMBIE FUNGUS: IT’S REAL, IT’S CREEPY, AND IT’S NOT JUST ON HBO
The fungus behind The Last of Us isn’t totally made up. Meet Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the real-life puppet master that turns ants into brain-dead bug zombies.
Here’s how it works: the fungus infects the ant, hijacks its brain, makes it climb to a high leaf, lock its jaws, and die — so the fungus can grow out of its head and rain spores down on the next unlucky victim.
Yup, nature said, “hold my petri dish.”
Don’t worry, it doesn’t target humans — but some fungi do. Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Cryptococcus can be deadly, especially in hospitals or dusty climates. One even has a 40–60% mortality rate.
The real horror? We’ve only identified 10% of all fungi. So yeah, your backyard might be full of hidden mycological nightmares.
Source: Popular Science
https://x.com/MarioNawfal/...
ZOMBIE FUNGUS: IT’S REAL, IT’S CREEPY, AND IT’S NOT JUST ON HBO
The fungus behind The Last of Us isn’t totally made up. Meet Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the real-life puppet master that turns ants into brain-dead bug zombies.
Here’s how it works: the fungus infects the ant, hijacks its brain, makes it climb to a high leaf, lock its jaws, and die — so the fungus can grow out of its head and rain spores down on the next unlucky victim.
Yup, nature said, “hold my petri dish.”
Don’t worry, it doesn’t target humans — but some fungi do. Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Cryptococcus can be deadly, especially in hospitals or dusty climates. One even has a 40–60% mortality rate.
The real horror? We’ve only identified 10% of all fungi. So yeah, your backyard might be full of hidden mycological nightmares.
Source: Popular Science
https://x.com/MarioNawfal/...
3 days ago
