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University of Copenhagen Parasite Turns Ants Zombies
Photo credit: Brian Lund Fredensborg
University of Copenhagen researchers have discovered a strange parasite that transforms seemingly normal ants into zombies during specific times of the day. These liver flukes essentially take over the ant’s brain and control when they climb up blades of grass for grazers to eat.. Once the ant is infected, they multiply in the hundreds, with one parasite taking over the brain and influencing its behavior.

Notre Dame Robotic Sea Turtle
MRMC’s CineBot Mini is great for live-action camera shoots, while this robotic sea turtle, built by engineers at the University of Notre Dame, mimics that varied gait patterns of their real-life counterpart. It was designed using data collected from zoological studies on the morphology, gait patterns and flipper flexibility of multiple sea turtle species, thus enabling engineers to maximize adaptability and versatility.

Baby Turtle Robot WiFi Controlled
Jizai’s robotic arms are for show, while this innovative baby sea turtle-inspired robot developed by a team of robotics experts at the University of California San Diego can move through sand. It’s capable of traveling through sand at a depth of 5-inches at a speed of 1.2 millimeters per second. There are force sensors at the end of its limbs for obstacle detection, while a WiFi module lets you control it untethered.