{"id":598465,"date":"2023-01-17T15:52:17","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T21:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/17\/the-last-of-us-zombie-infection-is-real-heres-what-scientists-say-about-the-threat-to-humans\/"},"modified":"2023-01-17T15:52:17","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T21:52:17","slug":"the-last-of-us-zombie-infection-is-real-heres-what-scientists-say-about-the-threat-to-humans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/17\/the-last-of-us-zombie-infection-is-real-heres-what-scientists-say-about-the-threat-to-humans\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Last Of Us\u2019 Zombie Infection Is Real\u2014Here\u2019s What Scientists Say About The Threat To Humans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Topline<\/h2>\n

HBO\u2019s hotly anticipated TV adaptation of the acclaimed Last of Us <\/em>game series premiered on Sunday, showcasing the world after a devastating fungal pandemic wiped out most of humanity, a fictional brain infection that experts say is inspired by a very real set of fungi that can hijack their hosts and turn them into zombies.<\/p>\n

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HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ adapts a game of the same name from Naughty Dog, which depicts society after … [+]<\/span> the outbreak of a devastating fungal plague. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>Liane Hentscher\/HBO<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Key Facts<\/h2>\n
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The Last of Us<\/em> is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by hordes of \u201cinfected,\u201d aggressive, zombified humans who have contracted a parasitic fungal infection\u2014the cordyceps brain infection\u2014which keeps its hosts alive, transforms their bodies as it grows within them and pushes them to bite others to transmit the infection.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The infection is inspired by a real group of fungi, which are often nicknamed \u201czombie fungus<\/a>,\u201d that target insects and grow<\/a> through the host’s body\u2014in some cases, it can precisely control its host\u2019s behavior to spread the infection.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Jo\u00e3o Ara\u00fajo, an assistant curator and researcher in mycology at the New York Botanical Garden, told Forbes<\/em> it\u2019s \u201cvery unlikely\u201d such a jump could occur given the vast differences between human and insect biology.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

They are \u201cnot prepared to invade, establish within and transmit spores from a human body,\u201d Ara\u00fajo said, adding that they have parasitized insects for more than 130 million years and \u201ccannot even establish themselves in any mammals or non-insect animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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David Hughes, a professor of food security at Penn State, head of PlantVillage<\/a> and a zombie fungus expert who consulted on the first Last of Us<\/em> game, told Forbes<\/em> it is \u201cnot that fanciful\u201d to imagine an infection crossing into humans\u2014animal diseases often cross over into humans\u2014but said a zombie fungus would \u201cundoubtedly\u201d lose its mind-controlling powers in the process.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It just won\u2019t have the \u201ctools to go and manipulate our brains,\u201d explained Charissa de Bekker, an expert in parasitic fungi and assistant professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, noting that most zombie fungi infect a very limited range of insects, often only one species, which is possible after millions of years evolving alongside one another.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

News Peg<\/h2>\n

The first episode of HBO\u2019s The Last of Us<\/em> was released on Sunday. The nine-episode series, starring Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Pedro Pascal as Joel, is an adaptation of the game series of the same name. The first game, released in 2013 by studio Naughty Dog, is one of the most critically<\/a> well-received and decorated games in history, as well as a commercial success. Since its release it has been remastered, remade and spawned a sequel, The Last of Us Part II<\/em>. Though based on a game, viewers don\u2019t need to have played the game<\/a> in order to follow or appreciate the show and it is<\/a> reportedly a faithful adaptation<\/a>, albeit with some significant differences.<\/p>\n

Contra<\/h2>\n

Though praising the way The Last of Us<\/em> depicts parasitic fungi in the games and show, experts highlighted a number of areas where the fiction departed from reality. De Bekker said it was great the infected are shown as living beings\u2014rather than the less natural \u201cundead\u201d commonly deployed in the zombie genre\u2014but that their aggressive behavior is not in line with what infected insects do. Such insects will usually be compelled to climb to a position that ensures optimal spore dispersal to maximize the chances of infecting others. This aggressive behavior is likely inspired by rabies, de Bekker said, which is spread through bites and promotes aggression in hosts. Ara\u00fajo said it was a \u201cshame\u201d fungal spores have been removed from the show, a decision showmakers said<\/a> was taken to avoid actors having to wear obstructive gas masks for large portions of the show. Spores, which are a crucial component of the games, \u201care the most important means of reproduction in fungi\u201d and one of the most interesting aspects of their life cycle, Ara\u00fajo said.<\/p>\n

Tangent<\/h2>\n

In the games and show, cordyceps invade the host\u2019s brain. This is a major departure from what happens in nature, where zombie fungi actually steer well clear of the brain and manipulate behavior with chemical signals, Hughes said. This discovery was made fairly recently and after the first game had been released.<\/p>\n

What To Watch For<\/h2>\n

A multiplayer Last of Us<\/em> game is in the works, Naughty Dog has confirmed, and more details are expected in 2023. Presently, details are scarce, though a small amount of concept art<\/a> has been released. Studio head Neil Druckmann has said<\/a> the game has been in the works since before The Last of Us Part II<\/em> launched in 2020 and is the studio\u2019s \u201cmost ambitious project\u201d to date. Though not confirmed, fans widely expect<\/a> Naughty Dog will announce a third title in the game\u2019s main series in the future and Druckmann has openly stated he feels there is \u201cmore story to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further Viewing<\/h2>\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n

How the Zombie Fungus Takes Over Ants\u2019 Bodies to Control Their Minds<\/a> (Atlantic)<\/p>\n

Scientists Work Out How To Grow Zombie Mushrooms In A Lab \u2014 It Could Help Unlock New Virus-Fighting, Anti-Cancer Drugs<\/a> (Forbes)<\/p>\n

How Zombies Can Help Prevent the Next Pandemic<\/a> (Scientific American)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow me on\u00a0<\/span>Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0Send me a secure\u00a0tip<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Robert Hart<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Topline HBO\u2019s hotly anticipated TV adaptation of the acclaimed Last of Us game series premiered on Sunday, showcasing the world after a devastating fungal pandemic wiped out most of humanity, a fictional brain infection that experts say is inspired by a very real set of fungi that can hijack their hosts and turn them into<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":598466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4948,43697],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-598465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the","8":"category-us"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}