Here's a selection of a few parasites and the hosts they turn into zombies. This strategy seems to work, she added: 'A parasite that can alter the behavior of its host, and in doing so improve its own transmission, is going to be favored by natural selection,' she said. ( How a parasitic fungus turns ants into 'zombies.') 'Some parasites can alter the behavior of their host in ways that give the parasite a better home, or provide more nutrients, or cause the host to move to a different environment,' said Janice Moore, a biologist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. These masters of mind control manipulate their hosts from within, causing them to act in self-destructive ways that ultimately benefit the parasite. Zombies may still be a thing of fiction, but some parasites more or less turn their hosts into the walking dead.
