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Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with female corpses
- MisterBastahrd 4y agoI'm sure some enterprising screenwriter will discover this and have a new muse.
- yarg 4y ago> As male flies copulate with dead females, the fungal spores are showered onto the males, who then suffer the same gruesome fate. That doesn't seem right - it seems like it would restrict the male -> female transmission vector. Either way, pheromone traps are an interesting concept; they don't even need to trap the victims, just separate the males and females to prevent them from breeding.
- klyrs 4y agoI'm guessing the males don't suffer their fate immediately, and go on to spread the fungus to living females.
- robocat 4y agoPerhaps the fungus causes dead male flies to attract other male flies. If male flies normally don’t produce the sesquiterpene pheromones, and the fungus does, and pheremones are the primary way females are recognised, then . . .
- yarg 4y agoAlso in ducks (no need for fungal encouragement): https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/mar/08/highereducation.research https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/mar/08/highereduc...
- IIAOPSW 4y agoI'm willing to bet that the immediate impact of this on the size of the fly population is negligible, so the trait is selected for in the short to medium term. In the longer term, as the fungus spreads, it may be a victim of its own success. Fungi don't really understand sustainability.
- chrsig 4y ago...rule #34 can have an exception this one time, right?
- echelon 4y agoThose of us lucky enough to live in middle and upper class lifestyles in advanced economies are wrapped up in artificial Disneyland bubbles of our own creation. Life on average isn't sipping morning lattes, taking trips to the beach, or attending Pilates class. It's a brutal dog eat dog game of energy being captured and exploited. Life being snuffed out and chemicals being digested and repurposed. A level higher, the physics of solar birth and death, asteroid impacts, and cosmic radiation are blind, uncaring, and absolute. Our modern and luxurious experiences have been very short lived and do not reflect the typical animal life on earth. Nature is brutal. It's really quite something to marvel at.
- norwalkbear 4y agoWhoa, could there be a parasite that alters HUMAN behavior?!
- danielheath 4y agoMost of them do!
- boomchinolo78 4y agoGood, meanwhile, and in spite of living in "1st world", having been born in a 3rd world country I'll continue my semestral parasite pills.
- norwalkbear 4y agoPlease go on!
- homonculus1 4y agoBe careful about where that idea takes you...
- mPReDiToR 4y agoSomeone will be along with an e-meter soon to test how you're operating. Good old L Ron. Whatta guy.
- willcipriano 4y agoThe Goa'uld. Stargate was as much science as fiction.
- DoreenMichele 4y agoI'm sure there's lots more info available, but a quick and dirty reply: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior-altering_parasite https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior-altering_parasite See also: Parasite in cat poop linked to higher likelihood of entrepreneurial behavior https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19452826 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19452826
- motohagiography 4y agoWhat the HELL, Nature?!
- dukeofdoom 4y agoSeems like an awesome midjourney prompt for somebody to run.
- leonim 4y agoIf you are interested in this subject, Carl Zimmer wrote a great book that has all sorts of examples of parasites that control their host: "Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures" https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatures/dp/074320011X https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatu...
- reactorpres 4y agogross.