Parasites wage war against zombie-ant fungus  Back in March of
last year scientists reported finding a "zombie fungus" that was
affecting ant colonies in Brazil, the details of which sounded
something straight out of a George A. Romero film. Nicknamed the
"zombie-ant fungus", it invades an ant's brain and takes
control, forcing the ant march to its death at a mass grave near
the ant colony. Once there, fungal spores erupt out of the ant's
head in an effort to infect a passing victim. But just when you
thought things couldn't look more grim, it now appears that a
parasite has come to the ants' rescue — one that's waging a war
against the disease itself.  The parasite was discovered by a
team led by David Hughes of Penn State University. The research
is helping scientists understand how entire ant colonies have
been able to survive the onset of the zombie-ant fungus. It
turns out that the newly discovered parasite is itself a fungus
— a hyperparasitic fungus that specializes in attacking the very
parasite that