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Zombie Ants

Started by CraigStern, January 16, 2012, 12:40:38 PM

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CraigStern

So, this is apparently a real thing: a parasitic fungus that hijacks the mental functioning of ants.

http://earthsky.org/biodiversity/fungus-turns-tropical-carpenter-ants-into-the-walking-dead

ArtDrake

Yup. It's pretty scary, but the best we can hope for is for it not to adapt to any more species.

Duskling

Quote from: Duckling on January 16, 2012, 12:48:27 PM
Yup. It's pretty scary, but the best we can hope for is for it not to adapt to any more species.
Seems pretty unlikely.

ArtDrake


Tastidian

Quote from: Duckling on January 16, 2012, 12:48:27 PM
Yup. It's pretty scary, but the best we can hope for is for it not to adapt to any more species.

Contrarily we as humans would never amount to anything if we didn't make such sagacious adaptations. Hopefully nothing will meet our level of evolution.

P.S. I'm still a blue cape. I feel unaccomplished.

ArtDrake

Meh. I don't really post anywhere but in the Forum Games, but somehow I've managed to rack up exactly 600 posts. The posts aren't what counts, as long as you've good ideas and you're a nice person.

Tastidian

Quote from: Duckling on February 08, 2012, 10:33:53 PM
Meh. I don't really post anywhere but in the Forum Games, but somehow I've managed to rack up exactly 600 posts. The posts aren't what counts, as long as you've good ideas and you're a nice person.

I know but I cant help the feeling how much I missed out.

Duskling

Quote from: Dullahan on February 08, 2012, 10:53:22 PM
I know but I cant help the feeling how much I missed out.
Not much, actually. The forums have been fairly quiet as of late.

bugfartboy

Guys. Zombie Ants.

Scary. Any desire to visit Thailand I may have previously had is now gone.

Duskling

#9
Quote from: bugfartboy on February 09, 2012, 07:05:53 AM
Guys. Zombie Ants.

Scary. Any desire to visit Thailand I may have previously had is now gone.
Like Duckling said, there isn't much we can do but hope that humans can't be affected.

0_0

Steelfist

Okay then. Now I'm wondering if that 'more successful the species is, the more likely it is to develop a parasitic counterpart' applies to humans. After all, we are certainly among the more successful species on the planet. Still, I imagine it could be defeated and destroyed by humans, if even ants can contain the infection.

Tastidian

I'm sure if they develop an ablility to overpower our own fucntions we would all deam it a usless and harmfull species to all kind and simply make it extinct. We are quiter superior this way.

Ertxiem

Note that for the fungus point of view, it's of its own interest to infect (and kill) only a small fraction of the ants. If it infects a large number of ants, the colony might die and the fungus will not be able to spread any more.

In the case of humans, the same reasoning applies: any disease will only affect a fraction of humans at some point in time. If it kills/affects too much hosts, it will have a harder time to spread, hence, lowering its chances of continuing to exist (due to lack of hosts).
Ert, the Dead Cow.
With 2 small Mandelbrot sets as the spots.

Duskling

To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure what the fungus would want with us. Other than a higher chance of spreading, our bodies don't seem to be very useful to the fungus.

Tastidian

Good point Ert if the hunter hunts to extermination then they would suffer in turn. Mothernature does like to keep things in equilibrium and if these are natural i'm sure the same principals apply.