And the Fungi Shall Inherit the Earth...

Fungi are the scariest best living things on earth. They are everywhere. In fact, the largest single organism on Earth is a fungus, whose mycelium spans several miles of a forest floor in Oregon. In the future, it will not be the meek, but the fungi, that inherit the Earth. I wrote a previous post a while back about mycelia as a basis for cellular intelligence, using a slime mold as a paradigm for a primitive neural network. This could help tie up some loose ends in our current understanding of evolution. My good friend Justin Michael FlimFlam sent me this article today about how sick ants will abandon the nest to die, thereby preventing infection of the entire colony. I was reminded of a, for lack of a better term, fucking awesome Planet Earth scene, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, who I want to narrate my entire life. The quote I find most interesting is:

"The parasites do play a role in preventing any one species from gaining an upperhand. The more numerous a species becomes, the more likely it is to be attacked by a Cordyceps Fungus." 

Now humans number in the billions, but that pales in comparison to the numerousness of the arthropods. But perhaps it is only a matter of time until we become susceptible to the great equalizer cordyceps fungus. You are probably saying, "Nah dawg, we got fluconazole for that shizz." And I answer, in the words of Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park: "Nature, uh, finds a way [also don't forget this]." Perhaps we are seeing the beginning of a great equalizer in the growing MRSA, resistant TB, resistant-whatever-you-want strains that have jumped from mere nosocomial infection to community acquired deadliness. And the fungi shall inherit the earth...

Behold, the might of the Cordyceps Fungus!