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A huge number of parasites can change the behavior of the organisms they infect. In some cases, parasites can even make their hosts display completely new behaviors. We understand very little about the mechanisms and pathways behind this interaction. To learn more, we investigated how a specific fungus changes the behavior of ants, by turning them into "zombie ants". The infected zombies climb high and latch onto twigs just before they die, which helps the fungus to spread its spores a further distance.
Our results suggest that the fungus takes over the brain, secreting LSD-like compounds, expressing proteins that change serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, and altering the ability to communicate with nearby ants. Our genome and transcriptome dataset, obtained using both field and lab techniques, allowed us for the first time to dive a bit deeper into the mechanisms used to regulate behavior. In the long run this work might even lead to discoveries related to human brain health.
Is this avenue of inquiry really advisable?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Farkus888 on Thursday November 12 2015, @09:10AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasma_gondii [wikipedia.org]
Just the beginning. Like all effective tools what can be used for good can be used for evil. There is potentially an immeasurable upside here so it will be studied despite those risks. 20 years from now we may find it weird that there are psychological conditions that aren't conclusively linked to an infection.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday November 12 2015, @07:03PM
And, FWIW, Alzheimer's may well be caused by a fungal infection. The evidence is inconclusive, but suggestive.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.