It's one of nature's most disturbing horror stories: a fungus takes control of a living ant and uses it to spread its spores through the colony. But now there's a strange new wrinkle to the story, as ...

A zombie cicada fungus, _Massospora cicadina_, has consumed the rear end of this periodical cicada, replacing it with a 'plug' of chalky spores. Matt Kasson, CC BY-ND Is a zombie apocalypse caused by ...

To find the world’s most sinister examples of mind control, don’t look to science fiction. Instead, go to a tropical country like Brazil, and venture deep into the jungle. Find a leaf that’s hanging ...

CNN — Around the world, a parasitic fungus transforms ants into "zombies." The fungus is like something out of a horror movie: The organism hijacks the body and brain of its ant host, mind-controlling ...

A mind-controlling parasite turns ants into zombies, forcing them to climb to the tops of shrubs, bite down and die. Now, a new study finds that the fungus acts like a puppeteer, somehow "pulling" the ...

Researchers have found that the fungal parasite that makes ants zombie-like invades the ant's entire body but leaves the brain intact. Other parasites also have mind-control capabilities and some of ...

Aristos is a Newsweek science and health reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He is particularly focused on archaeology and paleontology, although he has covered a wide variety of topics ranging ...

Tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva. Credit: Alex Wild/University of Texas at Austin The Tawny crazy ant (sometimes called the Rasberry crazy ant) is an invasive species originally found in South ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Tawny crazy ants, a voracious species native to the Caribbean coast ...

Scientists believe an invasive ant species that spews acid from its abdomen has finally met its match after discovering that a naturally occurring fungus kills off a significant number of the ant ...

A new study is shedding light on the mysterious markings of zombie ants, tropical carpenter ants that take their orders from a fungus. The fungal vampire carves its way into an ant's body and compels ...