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Cordyceps: attack of the killer fungi - Planet Earth Attenborough BBC wildlife

BBC Studios · 12.6M views · 2008-11-03 · 3:04

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Overview

A three-minute clip from BBC's Planet Earth narrated by David Attenborough about Cordyceps, the fungus that infects insects and takes over their behavior. It shows an infected ant and its demise.

On Hacker News

HN links it as the quick introduction to zombie-ant fungi whenever the topic comes up.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2017–2026

Topics

Animals & natureBiology & biotechnology
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cordycepszombie antsattenboroughplanet earthfungi

What people said

antiviral · 2021-05 · Recommendation

Fungi can be very potent. There is a form of fungi called Cordyceps that invade the brains of ants and change their behavior in a way that increases its spread. Here's a clip by Attenborough explaining it best: [VIDEO] They even made a movie about this jumping to humans called "The Girl with all the Gifts"

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lorenzhs · 2019-03 · Recommendation

For anyone else not familiar with cordyceps fungi, here's a three-minute clip from BCC Planet Earth: [VIDEO]

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gabaix · 2017-11 · Recommendation

There is a 3-minute video from BBC Planet Earth showing an infected ant and its demise. [VIDEO] It is like watching the Alien scene, except this is real.

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Sources

Video by BBC Studios, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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