Newly Discovered Plant Protein Creates “Zombie Plants”

Halloween may be over, but zombies aren’t going away any time soon. There’s a parasite that’s transforming healthy plants into a zombie-like state—so they’re not maturing, not dying, and developing new, weird appearances. And it can kill large swaths of crops. Scientists are trying to figure out how to stop this zombie plague. University of Ottawa-based biologist Allyson MacLean just discovered one of the parasite proteins that cause the extended lifespan of its host. (Segment produced by Olivia Young)