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Apr 2025
7m 8s

How Does the 'Zombie Ant' Fungus Work?

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About this episode

Some specialized fungi can hijack the behavior of ants, wasps, and spiders in order to spread their spores. Learn about the real-life Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps fungi that inspired 'The Last of Us' in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/zombie-ant-fungus.htm

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