By Jason Borrego
Cordyceps Fungus
Mind controlling Fungus found in Brazilian rain forest:
Most fictional zombie infections are a product of a deadly virus. However, in the deep forests of Brazil a real cordyceps fungus has done the impossible. It has brought to life the zombie apocalypse on the insect world. Originally thought to be a single class of fungi, the cordyceps is now divided between four distinct species with the possibly for many more. This is part of the inspiration for my new book INFECTED FREAKS due out this fall.
The newly discovered phenomenon is frightening scientist around the globe. This is because of the mind controlling abilities the fungi presents. Scientists have announced the zombie fungus species can infect ants, take over the brain, and then kill the insect in a spot that is desirable to grow more fungi and help spread the spores. Some of these ants could travel miles to find the right spot. This makes the body of the ant a puppet to the fungi.
How does the Cordyceps Fungus Work?
“The parasitic spores attach to the ant, eventually breaking through the exoskeleton using mechanical pressure and enzymes. It would be much easy to pass through from human to human. A bit, a scratch, a tear in the flesh would be enough for the fungi to invade the blood stream with the ultimate goal of the brain.
Next up is the yeast stage. The fungi spreads in the ant’s body and presumably produce compounds that affect the ant’s hemocoel and utilizes the evolutionary trait of an extended phenotype to manipulate the behavioral patterns exhibited by the ant. Zombie ants begin to have irregularly spaced full body convolutions which sends them to the forest floor. The insect climbs up the stem of a plant and uses its mandibles to secure itself to a leaf vein, with abnormal force, leaving dumbbell-shaped marks on it.
Once the mandibles of the ant are secured to the leaf vein, atrophy sets in destroying the sarcomere connections in the muscle fibers, and reduces the mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticula. The ant is no longer able to control the muscles of the mandible and will remain affixed here. This lockjaw trait is popularly known as the death grip, and is essential in the fungus’s fitness. The fungus then kills the ant, and continues to grow as its hyphae invade more soft tissues and structurally fortify the ant’s exoskeleton. More mycelia then sprout out of the ant, and securely anchor it to the plant substrate while secreting antimicrobials to ward off competition. When the fungus is ready to reproduce, its fruiting bodies grow from the ant’s head and rupture, releasing the spores. This process takes 4 to 10 days.”
Who discovered the Cordyceps Fungus?
The discovery by David Hughes and colleagues is something of wonder and terror. The fungal growth is only thought to harm the insect population. However, with each new species of fungus the risk to humans seems paramount. The fungus is capable of adapting to various environments and victims. Should the fungi ever infect a human brain the results may be similar to the fantasied zombie apocalypse.
The cordyceps fungus is an ever evolving species that scientists are just beginning to understand. With thousands of zombie fungi in tropical forests across the globe yet to be discovered, the chances of a human infection are high according to some of the specialists in the field.
The Cordyceps Fungus and zombies?
The fungus uses its host to spread the infection. The human body is capable of spreading such a virus in an uncanny manner. Instead of devouring flesh the will of the creature would be to infect other hosts. This is exactly what these zombie ants do to its own colony. Once an ant is infected, and the fungi forces the bug to bit the other ants and in doing so allows the infection to spread at a frightening rate. The same concept applied to humans is exactly what the zombie apocalypse entails. However, unlike zombies a brainless body would bloom into a forest of fungus and create pockets of spores to infect the next unlucky person to stroll close enough. The human tissue would feed the fungi for a wealth of time allowing the process to devour mankind in a short period.
However, ants are smart and if they sense a infected member they will carry them away from the colony hoping to avoid the infection. Of course the fungus infecting humans is speculation at this point. But in my new book series Infected Freaks the outbreak is real.
The Cordyceps Fungus in Infected Freaks
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INFECTED FREAKS is a survival horror thriller that tells the story of “Abraham Heinz,” a washed up man surviving in the Rocky Mountains. He is conflicted when two of his children enlist in opposite factions in America’s second Civil War. Nevertheless, when a mysterious outbreak connected to an approaching planet leaves the world in awe, he will stop at nothing to bring his family back together.
The alien fungus appeared right after the cryptic planet RED DEAD stained the sky much like a distant moon. A cannibalistic outbreak has transformed much of humanity into mindless puppets—something straight out of a nightmare.
Is it alien or something created in a lab? One thing is certain—the closer Red Dead draws to Earth—the more powerful the infected freaks grow.
As the emotion thriller builds, Abraham is transformed into someone he tried to forget, he wages war on anything living and dead if it means protecting his family.
The series, fused with emotion, will be delivered in a volume of novella-sized episodes that will make up a much larger tale of tragedy. Think of it as a favorite TV show or comic that will continue to build upon each breathtaking volume
Ophiocordyceps
http://www.wired.com/2013/09/absurd-creature-of-the-week-zombie-ant-fungus/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/zombie-ant-fungus-parasite/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110303-zombie-ants-fungus-new-species-fungi-bugs-science-brazil