Experts Say the Zombie Fungus From 'The Last of Us' Is Real

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

If you’ve been following HBO’s breakout hit The Last of Us—a story of people navigating a post-apocalyptic world where the cordyceps brain infection (CBI) has turned most of mankind into zombies—then you might be wondering if the "zombie fungus” is real (and if it affects humans). While the show is a freaky science fiction series based on a video game, the alarming spore-filled infection seen in the show is actually real.



The Last of Us is reportedly based on the cordyceps fungus (specifically Ophiocordyceps unilateralis), which is a so-called "zombie fungus” that infects ants. But while the fungus is a real thing, experts say it can’t infect humans. Still, it’s understandable to have questions. Here’s the deal.

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is a specialized parasite that infects, manipulates, and then kills ants, usually in a tropical setting, according to one scientific paper on the fungus.

“The fungi spreads through spores. A spore lands on an ant and produces a tube that bores through the cuticle into the ant body,” explains Raymond J. St. Leger, Ph.D., a mycologist and professor in the department of entomology at the University of Maryland, who has worked on Ophiocordyceps unilateralis.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/experts-say-the-zombie-fungus-from-the-last-of-us-is-real/ar-AA16UjNS

[ColinC]

1. "...experts say it can't infect humans"

…yet

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. The more you learn, the more evolution becomes an absolutely incredible process

Which is not to say it's somehow magical, just that the more science learns, the more obvious it becomes that it's grown into a really powerful thing. All these 10's of millions of years of (relative) planetary and climate stability has created evolutionary feats that you'd be disinclined to believe possible ... but they are.

[WheelWalker]

3. Resistance is futile.

[TheRealNorth]

4. What's really freaky....

Is that the fungus apparently takes over the ants muscles and movements, while the ant's CNS remains intact.

[Solly Mack]

5. That's the aspect that makes the show more intriguing.

I knew about the ants. Creepy to think about the fungus jumping from ants to humans.

Course, studying insect physiology has yielded a wealth of information that has benefited humans.

In the realm of possibilities, the imagination thrives.

[fightforfreedom]

6. Is this what happened to Trump Voters.

[genxlib]

7. There was a great book about this

Called "The Girl with all the Gifts"

https://www.amazon.com/Girl-All-Gifts-M-Carey/dp/0316334758

There is also a great documentary on fungus on Netflix called "Fabulous Fungi"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8258074/