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: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday November 12 2015, @10:13AM
Slaves! Zombie slaves! Robbed of their free will and the right to form unions by a mixture of Blowfish and Coneshell poisons! Or the old fashioned blow to the head and chains in the basement. But yes, the attempt to create the perfect employee, or spouse for the human-relations-challenged. Better if you could do it with chemicals instead of engineering, and better by engineering than by minimum wage legislation! We are on a roll here on SoylentNews! And I thought it was a Halloween thing. Murdock and the Kock Bros must be behind this!