DailyDirt: Zombies!

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Wed, Aug 10th 2011 5:00pm — Michael Ho

There are plenty of zombie movies where viruses decimate the human population with diseases that turn infected hosts into crazy, blood-thirsty undead bodies. Biotech research reports (and maybe even the CDC!) make some of the premises for these zombie movies sound plausible, but mother nature itself has created a few zombie phenomena as well. Here are just some examples.

Toxoplasma gondii infects rodents, cats.. and people -- possibly causing weird behaviors and strange culture quirks. The Happening has already happened, sort of. [url]
Fungus-controlled ants are compelled by their mold-masters to die in nice neighborhoods for spores to thrive. These ants are programmed to die on north-facing plant leaves, roughly 25 centimeters off the ground, in an area with 94-95% humidity and a temperature between 20-30 Celsius. [url]
A wasp's venom can turn a cockroach into a "dog on a leash." The wasp ends up laying eggs in the belly of its cockroach-pet -- and the wasp young eat their way out. [url]
Another kind of wasp lays its eggs in an orb spider, and the larvae control the spider to build a special web for them. Is there a Spiderman villan based on this wasp? [url]
To discover more interesting biological curiosities, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: ants, fungi, spiders, viruses, wasps, zombies

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killscar (profile), 10 Aug 2011 @ 8:07pm

Something to remember...
1. Make sure you know your zombie, is it a fast mover or a slow walker. Either way, don't under estimate it.

2. Decapitation is the only way to stop it. You MUST separate the head from the body to stop the creature.

3. Pick your favorite zombie movie for research. I prefer Shaun of the Dead (I REALLY like Lucy Davis) but feel free to go back to the classics.

4. Pray to your G*d.
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Pixelation, 10 Aug 2011 @ 9:49pm

"The Happening has already happened, sort of. "

Ted Nugent...Cat Scratch Fever.
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G Thompson (profile), 11 Aug 2011 @ 12:22am

Zombies were people too!
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Aug 2011 @ 6:01am

did not need to know this.
And on these notes, I will now be spending the remainder of my workday shuddering in a corner.
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Alien Bard, 11 Aug 2011 @ 9:52am

Fungus-controlled ants are compelled by their mold-masters to die in nice neighborhoods for spores to thrive.

An early experiment by the MAFIAA which escaped into the wild...
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