In the video game and HBO show The Last of Us, an infectious fungi turns humans into zombies. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption
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David McNew/Getty Images
In the video game and HBO show The Last of Us, an infectious fungi turns humans into zombies.
David McNew/Getty Images
In the video game and HBO show The Last of Us, humans struggle to survive after an infectious fungus turns ordinary people into zombies. Creators of the franchise didn't look far for inspiration — the series is based off a real-life species of fungus that performs a kind of "mind control" on its insect hosts.
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, otherwise known as cordyceps or zombie-ant fungus, infects insects such as ants or spiders. Like other parasites, cordyceps drains its host completely of nutrients before filling its body with spores that will let the fungus reproduce. It then compels the insect to seek height and remain there before it expels these spores, infecting other nearby insects in the process.
Bryn Dentinger, a biology professor at the University of Utah and curator of mycology at the Natural History Museum of Utah, told NPR that the fungus is one of the best known, and probably most commonly encountered, kinds of organisms with this mind control capability.
And he said that scientists aren't entirely sure how cordyceps is able to have the effect that it does on insects, although there are theories.
"There seems to be some combination of physical manipulation of muscle fibers, for example, possibly growth into the brain itself, that can impact its behavior," he said. "But there's also very likely some sort of chemical attack on the host, either small molecules, or proteins or some other things, that end up manipulating brain behavior."
Dentinger, who is also a fan of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us, said that there are some major differences between how the fungus is portrayed in the show and in real life. Cordyceps does not typically infect other hosts through the mouth, for example, and the infected aren't connected to one another through a network.
And, perhaps the most important: The fungus cannot infect humans.
"Our body temperatures are high enough that most organisms, their proteins would denature at that temperature and so they can't survive in our bodies," he said.
But there are species of fungus that are able to withstand higher temperatures, and can therefore infect humans. Climate change, as Dentinger explains, is equipping certain fungi with the capacity to withstand higher temperatures.
And it's possible that a fungus with similar mind-control capabilities could, at some point, be able to withstand a human's body temperature.
"That may be one reason why we're seeing more fungal infections in human humans, but again, to date, none of them are cordyceps," he said. "However, maybe that will happen in the future, but, at the moment, that is not a possibility."
And, as Dentinger, there are already species of fungus that alter a human's mental processing, such as psilocybin, otherwise known as "magic mushrooms." Meanwhile, other kinds of fungi are already ubiquitous in human life. Take yeast, for example, which is found in bread and in the human gut.
And while the prospect of fungus being able to manipulate human behavior isn't impossible, it's not likely, according to Dentinger. The traits the fungus have that allow them to attack an insect host are very specific to that insect — and it's not easily transferable to another species.
"It's unlikely that they would be able to hop from, say, an ant to a human, because we're so different," he said.
FAQs
The Last of Us Fungus is Real. The fungus from The Last of Us is based on a real fungus that exists in nature today and is called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, or cordyceps. Cordyceps is often referred to as the “zombie-ant fungus” because it primarily infects ants and other insects such as spiders.
Could the zombie fungus from The Last of Us really happen? ›
Mark Ramsdale, Associate Professor in Molecular Microbiology at the University of Exeter said: “It's unlikely that a fungal disease could spread on the scale we have seen in The Last of Us. Fungi can change people's behaviour, though – psilocybin is found in hundreds of species of fungi.
Is the fungus in the zombie real? ›
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, also known as the zombie-ant fungus, is a real-life parasite, with various strains attacking specific species of insects.
Can Cordyceps infect humans in real life? ›
Fortunately for us, Cordyceps and its relatives have evolved over millions of years to infect specific host species (namely insects and other arthropods) and, as they currently exist, would not be able to survive the higher body temperature of a human.
Is there actually no cure for Cordyceps? ›
The fungus he cites has no goal other than to spread, by any means necessary, ravaging “billions of puppets with poisoned minds.” Then he adds the real kicker: “And there are no treatments for this, no preventatives, no cures. They don't exist.
Could zombie fungi take over humans? ›
Is the zombie fungus dangerous to humans? The zombie fungus is not capable of infecting humans. It is actually common in some health supplements and in Chinese herbal medicine as it can improve immunity and possibly be helpful in fighting cancer cells or shrinking tumor size.
What kills cordyceps? ›
In these cases, the only reliable way of ensuring eradication of all fungal cells, including spores, is sterilization of contaminated tools, instruments, and devices.
Could The Last of Us ever happen? ›
While scientists aren't too worried about a cordyceps apocalypse happening anytime soon, some do believe climate change and warming temperatures could result in more frequent and more aggressive fungal infections.
Are zombies possible? ›
With TV series "The Walking Dead" to zombie movies like "Train to Busan" showing how infectious diseases infiltrate and manipulate the human body, you might ask yourself: Are zombies real? Luckily for you, according to our current understanding of human biology, zombies just can't happen.
What does the zombie fungus eat? ›
zombie-ant fungus, (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis), species of parasitic fungus of the order Hypocreales that infects ants and alters their behaviour before killing them. The fungus is largely pantropical and primarily infects carpenter ants (genus Camponotus).
There are no known cases of Cordyceps fungus infecting humans so far. The fungus does not typically infect or harm humans and cannot take over the human body.
How realistic is The Last of Us infection? ›
'The Last of Us' is based on real science: A fungus pandemic is unlikely, but not impossible. "The Last of Us" on HBO Max depicts a zombie apocalypse caused by a fungus pandemic. Experts say mind-controlling mushrooms aren't an imminent threat, but anti-fungal drug resistance is.
How accurate is The Last of Us? ›
HBO's “The Last of Us” series is an accurate adaptation following a plot similar to the game. This zombie-thriller follows Joel, who escorts Ellie on a risky journey that could lead to a cure. Not everything from the show is completely accurate, as there are some differences throughout the episodes.
Is the last of us fungus possible? ›
“It's far-fetched,” says Tom Chiller, chief of the Mycotic Diseases Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “That's just not going to happen.” But even if microbes don't hijack our body and sprout from our head, newly infectious and drug-resistant fungi are an emerging threat to human health.
Why are there no vaccines for fungal infections last of us? ›
This is because fungal cells are similar to our own in many ways. As such, finding targets for a drug that won't be toxic to our own bodies is tricky. Not to mention there's the growing problem of antifungal resistance, where fungi can no longer be destroyed by the drugs designed to kill them.
Why is Ellie immune? ›
Ultimately, the best way of creating a vaccine would have been to get Ellie pregnant, then harvest the brain tissue from the fetus in the second trimester. tl;dr Ellie's mom was bitten before Ellie was born, this caused immunity.
Could The Last of Us happen in reality? ›
While scientists aren't too worried about a cordyceps apocalypse happening anytime soon, some do believe climate change and warming temperatures could result in more frequent and more aggressive fungal infections.
How realistic is The Last of Us cordyceps? ›
The fungi in the show, Cordyceps, is in fact real and was inspired by the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungi which infects insects — it's nicknamed the “zombie-ant virus.”
Is there a fungus that can control humans? ›
And while the prospect of fungus being able to manipulate human behavior isn't impossible, it's not likely, according to Dentinger. The traits the fungus have that allow them to attack an insect host are very specific to that insect — and it's not easily transferable to another species.
Could cordyceps infect humans reddit? ›
Typically, cordyceps cannot infect humans due to our higher internal temperatures, among other factors. However, by modifying the fungus's genetic makeup, we were close to changing that.
