Like something straight out of The Last of Us, scientists have found a parasitic fungus in Brazil that attacks trapdoor spiders, The Guardian reports. It is not clear yet whether the fungus takes control of the spider before killing it like the zombie ant fungus that the TV show is based on.
"It's a really beautiful thing," said João Araújo, a Brazilian mycologist with the New York Botanical Garden, who discovered the fungus. "They infect trapdoor spiders, and it's one of the very few cordyceps that are purple, which is a cool feature." He adds that the new species "belongs to a mega-diverse group of fungi," of which "we know about one percent of its diversity, so we know very little."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Understanding the species more deeply could lead researchers to "investigate new medical compounds or use them to protect against pests in crops." Some of the initial research conducted included on-site DNA sequencing. Dr. Natalia Przelomska, who worked on-site, remarked that "what was really special about the field trip was that we could go and use some of the newest DNA sequencing technologies with the people working there."
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Parthenogenesis: the miracle of 'virgin births' in the animal kingdomThe Explainer Asexual reproduction, in which females reproduce without males by cloning themselves, has been documented in multiple species
-
Canyons under the Antarctic have deep impactsUnder the radar Submarine canyons could be affecting the climate more than previously thought
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
A rat infestation is spelling trouble for the almond industryThe Explainer The infestation has affected at least 100,000 acres in California
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
