The hit HBO series “The Last Of Us” describes a post-pandemic world devastated by a mass outbreak of a “zombie fungus” that infects and takes over the mind of its hosts. Originally a video game, the popular show was recently renewed for a second season.
Although its premise is science fiction, the fungus in the show is actually based in scientific reality.
Cordyceps – the so-called “zombie fungus” – is a real fungus and is sometimes used in treatments and therapeutics in Chinese herbal medicine.
Although cordyceps does not infect humans, it does infect a wide range of insects.
In ants, cordyceps slowly infects its victims by mind-controlling the host to migrate to a humid climate where the conditions are perfect for its growth. Once a suitable environment has been found, the ant will dig its jaws into a plant and await death.
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The fungus will then slowly consume the ant while eventually sending out its own spores – a sort of antenna to enthrall and trap future victims.
There are thousands of species of cordyceps each designed to infect a particular species – luckily, humans aren’t one of them. The human body’s immune system is more advanced than that of an ant and has a higher internal temperature, which would protect it from cordyceps infection.
