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Parasites - Tales Of Real Life Body Snatchers

Flickr Photo/Penn State

Zombies. The walking dead. The slow moving but inescapable pop culture phenomenon. Even on The Conversation we’ve discussed zombies. We had on Max Brooks, author of "World War Z," now a movie in theaters with Brad Pitt. There are zombie survival guides, books about economic policy with zombies, and even "Pride and Prejudice" with zombies. We seem to be fascinated by the idea of the moving, the living dead.

Well folks, I am not sure if this is good or bad news, but I am afraid zombies are real. At least kind of. Ross Reynolds talks with professor of entomology David Hughes about parasites that can infect animals and change their behaviors, including an estimated 14 percent of Americans.