Wait, what? Zombie fungus portrayed in show 'Last of Us' could become a reality?
Zombie fungus
There's nothing scarier than when fiction turns into reality. The moment an imagination born in the dark recesses of a mind turns into the hard truth, could be the biggest nightmare. What if we were to tell you that the scary nightmare shown on the hit TV show 'Last of us' could become our reality? Speaking to DailyMail, mycologists have revealed that the storyline might actually hold some truth.
For those of us who haven't seen the show, it paints a picture of an apocalyptic world, where a mind-controlling fungus, due to climate change, crosses the species' barrier; from ants to humans. What ensues is scary chaos.
Watch |Zombie Fungus: Fungal pandemic can turn humans into zombies?
Speaking to DailyMail, a researcher at the Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Manchester University has revealed that the storyline isn't all that far-fetched.
Norman van Rhijn says that the show "has taken inspiration from scientific proof and just sensationalized that a little bit."
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Another Mycologist João Araújo of The New York Botanical Garden, explains that this mind-controlling fungus, a.k.a., cordyceps, had previously evolved to jump into ants.
"The cordyceps was in beetles and then jumped to ants because both happened to be (in the same) tree trunk."
What is stopping it from jumping into humans? Not much. As per Norman van Rhijn, it might not happen in our lifetime, but you could "never say never".
He explains that for the human population to be infected with the zombie fungus, the immunity of our whole species would have to change.
Also read |Russian researchers attempt to 're-awaken' ancient viruses that killed giant woolly mammoths
What is currently protecting us is our temperatures. The fungus can withstand temperatures up to 80 Fahrenheit. Our bodies are much warmer at around 98 Fahrenheit.
Cordyceps might not be a threat right now, but other fungi are. In October 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its first-ever list of heath-threatening fungi, including 19 that pose the greatest threat.
(With inputs from agencies)
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