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submitted 10 months ago by VanHalbgott@lemmus.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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[-] neidu2@feddit.nl 70 points 10 months ago

Of the type often seen in movies where the body is rotten, no. Dead tissue doesn't move.

However, there are approximations:

For starters there's a type of fungus that hijacks ants, using it to spread its spores into other ants. It can control the ants movement to the point where it will cause the and to go to certain good spore-spread8ng places before the ant is devoured.

Then there's the disease that affects raindeer in some places. I don't remember the illness, but basically the mind goes byebye while the body is left to be controlled by less and less sophisticated parts of the brain, to the point where the animal can do nothing but walk in circles.

[-] Chaser@sopuli.xyz 41 points 10 months ago

The deer one is chronic wasting disease

[-] TheColonel@reddthat.com 19 points 10 months ago

I’ve heard concern of it becoming a pandemic in deer populations and also scientists are worried it’ll spread to people!

Yaaaaaaaaay. 🫠

[-] watson387@sopuli.xyz 9 points 10 months ago

It's caused by prions, which are definitely able to infect humans.

[-] prole@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Prions are absolutely terrifying

[-] watson387@sopuli.xyz 1 points 10 months ago

I agree. I knew nothing about them until I went down a kuru rabbit hole the other night. Extremely freaky.

[-] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 9 points 10 months ago

It’s bonkers. It’s resistant to everything, persists after being burned, etc.

[-] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

It's wild. Even after a deer with it dies it can remain in the soil for a couple of years. Burning and chemicals doesn't affect it. The prion is just there, hanging out, waiting in the soil and water until another deer comes along and gets it doing normal deer things.

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this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2024
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