The biological mechaпism behiпd the famoυs killer mυshroom that has the ability to maпipυlate the braiпs of carpeпter aпts aпd tυrп them iпto zombies is actυally mυch more sophisticated aпd cυппiпg thaп yoυ might thiпk.

Wheп asked “What is miпd coпtrol?”, there is пo пeed to look for aп illυstratioп iп a sci-fi movie. Iпstead, go to a tropical jυпgle, like Brazil, aпd fiпd a leaf aboυt 25cm loпg lyiпg oп the groυпd. Now let’s look at the υпderside of it. If yoυ’re lυcky, yoυ might fiпd aп aпt daпgliпg oп a leaf stalk, each tooth cliпgiпg tightly tryiпg to hold oп to its fragile life. Bυt this aпt is actυally already dead. Its eпtire body beloпgs to Ophiocordyceps υпilateralis , also kпowп as Killer Mυshroom or Αпt Braiп Coпtrol Mυshroom.

Once the fungus gets into a carpenter ant, it sucks up nutrients and takes control of the host’s brain. Within a week, it will force the ant to leave the nest and climb a nearby tree trunk to a height of about 25cm – where the temperature and humidity are most suitable for the fungus to grow. The ant’s jaws will be forced to permanently lock onto the leaf. The killer fungus then pierces a long stalk through the ant’s head, which develops into a cyst filled with spores. And because carpenter ants often climb up a dry leaf protruding in the path to feed, the fungal spores will fall on the poor ants below, turning an entire nest into a zombie.

Not only has the ability to colonize and control carpenter ants, this killer fungus has even made its way into popular culture. Its biomechanics are the inspiration behind the monsters in The Last of Us and the zombies in the book The Girl With All the Gifts . David Hughes, an entomologist at Pennsylvania State University, has also been obsessed with studying this fungus for years. And his latest research has shown that the mechanism behind this biological phenomenon is more terrifying and complex than we see.

Mariel Fredericksen, one of Hughes’ graduate students, used a special microscope to cut the infected ants into tiny pieces just 50nm thick – one-thousandth the width of a human hair. She then scans each slice, compiles the images into a 3-D model, and carefully annotates which are ants and which are mushrooms. It took 3 months just to mark a muscle fiber. To speed things up, Hughes worked with computer scientist Danny Chen, who later developed an artificial intelligence capable of distinguishing between ants and fungi.

When the fungal spores enter the ant’s body, they remain as protozoa floating in the host’s blood vessels and begin to divide into many other protozoa. At some point, these protozoa begin to link together through short vegetative tubes, forming a network to exchange nutrients and “communicate” with each other. They can also then begin to take control of the ant’s muscles, either by piercing the muscle cells or by growing around the spaces between the muscle bundles.

Whenever Hughes or someone else discussed zombie fungi, they always talked about them as a single entity capable of destroying and subverting the host’s control. But you can also imagine this fungus as an army, like the ants they target. The spores grow singly but then cooperate with each other to form a superorganism. Together, they can control a much larger living organism.

What is surprising, however, is that they can do it without touching the brain of the host. Hughes’ team found that fungal cells penetrated every nook and cranny of the ant’s body, but bypassed the brain. “If these parasites were to simply invade and destroy the host’s nerve tissue, I think the manipulations would be just as intriguing,” says Charissa de Bekker. from the University of Central Florida. “There must be something more complicated going on.”

So what we’re seeing here is essentially an aggressive and violent takeover by the most cunning fungus. The invader’s force takes control of the host’s entire body and uses it as a walkie-talkie to communicate with each other and influence the brain from a distance. Hughes thinks that the way the fungus directly controls the muscles of an ant is similar to how a puppeteer controls his string puppet. As the infection progresses, the nerve cells in the ant’s body – the cells that help the brain control muscles – begin to die. This makes it easier for fungi to release chemicals that help them control muscle bundles. If that is the case, then the ant will have to end its life as a prisoner in its own body. The ant’s brain is still in the driver’s seat, but the fungus has already covered the wheels.