Pauls' Revere
08-01-2020, 07:25 PM
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zombie-cicadas-infected-mind-controlling-fungus-west-virginia/?fbclid=IwAR0xr_Nw4y2sk-OW5yCQtHHCdSKQHic2_Cx6Mb-5LcbFxzxYCAo0cLiqOnQ
Humans aren't the only ones susceptible to the psychedelic chemicals found in magic mushrooms. "Zombie cicadas" — under the influence of a parasitic fungus — have reemerged in West Virginia to infect their friends, and now scientists have a better understanding of how it happens.
Researchers from West Virginia University recently saw the return of these bizarre creatures, which are infected with a fungus called Massospora. According to a study published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, the fungus manipulates the insects to unknowingly infect other cicadas, rapidly transmitting the disease to create a zombie army of sorts.
When a male cicada is infected with Massospora, researchers found it flicks its wings like a female, a known mating call. This behavior attracts healthy male cicadas, facilitating the spread of the fungus, which contains chemicals including psilocybin, found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Just how the disease manipulates its host and spreads is just the most recent discovery following decades of research on Massospora. The findings show the parasite functions, in part, as a sexually transmitted infection.
Researchers described the gruesome details of the fungus' process as a "disturbing display of B-horror movie proportions." The spores eat away at the genitalia, butts and abdomens of the cicadas until they eventually fall off, replacing them with fungal spores — a brutal process for the insects, which just spent more than a decade underground.
The cicadas begin to decay, but rather than immediately die, they fly around and infect others. Because of the infection's mind-controlling abilities, the insects appear to behave as if nothing is wrong.
But, there's no need to be concerned about being infected by the zombies. Unlike murder hornets or mosquitoes, these zombie cicadas are generally harmless to humans, researchers said.
:D
Humans aren't the only ones susceptible to the psychedelic chemicals found in magic mushrooms. "Zombie cicadas" — under the influence of a parasitic fungus — have reemerged in West Virginia to infect their friends, and now scientists have a better understanding of how it happens.
Researchers from West Virginia University recently saw the return of these bizarre creatures, which are infected with a fungus called Massospora. According to a study published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, the fungus manipulates the insects to unknowingly infect other cicadas, rapidly transmitting the disease to create a zombie army of sorts.
When a male cicada is infected with Massospora, researchers found it flicks its wings like a female, a known mating call. This behavior attracts healthy male cicadas, facilitating the spread of the fungus, which contains chemicals including psilocybin, found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Just how the disease manipulates its host and spreads is just the most recent discovery following decades of research on Massospora. The findings show the parasite functions, in part, as a sexually transmitted infection.
Researchers described the gruesome details of the fungus' process as a "disturbing display of B-horror movie proportions." The spores eat away at the genitalia, butts and abdomens of the cicadas until they eventually fall off, replacing them with fungal spores — a brutal process for the insects, which just spent more than a decade underground.
The cicadas begin to decay, but rather than immediately die, they fly around and infect others. Because of the infection's mind-controlling abilities, the insects appear to behave as if nothing is wrong.
But, there's no need to be concerned about being infected by the zombies. Unlike murder hornets or mosquitoes, these zombie cicadas are generally harmless to humans, researchers said.
:D