Gibellula attenboroughii is a parasitic fungus that infects cave-dwelling orb-weaving spiders by attaching to and invading their bodies, consuming internal organs from the inside out. The fungus manipulates spider brain chemistry and dopamine levels to drive spiders out of webs into exposed locations where they die. Fruiting bodies then sprout from the corpses and release spores to infect additional spiders. Infected spiders may survive for up to about three weeks. Infections have been recorded in the US, the UK, Russia and other regions worldwide. Human infection is considered extremely unlikely and would require vast genetic changes.
Known as Gibellula attenboroughii, the fungus attaches to the spider, invades its body and devours it from the inside out. It then manipulates the spider's brain chemistry, altering dopamine levels to force the insect out of its web and into the open, where it ultimately dies. Afterward, the fungus sprouts fruiting bodies from the corpse, releasing spores to infect new spiders and continue its deadly cycle.
Scientists stress that G. attenboroughii poses no threat of turning humans into zombies like in the popular video game-turned-HBO series ' The Last of Us,' where a fungus infects people, takes control of their minds, and sparks a global apocalypse. João Araújo, a mycologist at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, said: 'Infecting humans would require many, many millions of years of genetic modifications.'
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