One of the trends that is being talked about all over the world right now. It cannot be denied that there must be a famous series. “The Last of Us” It’s definitely included. Because this is a series based on Naughty Dog’s game of the same name, it’s one of the best games that has captured the hearts of fans around the world. And when it was made into a live-action series, it didn’t disappoint the fans.
The Last of Us tells a story in a world facing “Zombie” caused by a fungus The epidemic and took control of the brains and bodies of the infected as if it were a puppet.
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“Joel”, a middle-aged man who lost something important. Get the mission to bring “Ellie”, a girl who looks nothing different from the other kids, to a destination on the other side of America. But her importance is Ellie has something that could save this zombie-infested world!
That’s a post-apocalyptic story. (Post-Apocalypse) that creator Neil Druckmann was inspired by. “Real Zombie Fungus” !!
On our planet there is a kind of fungus called “Cordycep” There are over 600 species and are found in many parts of the world. Especially in the tropical regions of Southeast Asia.
This cordycep can infect insects and invertebrates. But the best known example is in ants. Cordycep-infected insects exhibit symptoms as if something has taken over their minds and bodies. which is like the concept of a zombie
Cordycep then ultimately kills the ants by growing mushrooms from their heads. Which mushrooms can release spores that infect other insects Mushroom-like as well, which is clearly a reference to Cordycep infection.
Charissa de Becker, Professor of Ginology Of the more than 600 cordycep species, about 30 have been confirmed to be “mycological” from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. able to infect ants
But, she said, there are other fungal species that can infect other insects, such as wasps and spiders, as well as a family of fungi other than Cordycep, which have the ability to control the body of infected organisms. there is too
De Becker describes the infectious process as “What we see, especially with ants, is when they go for food They may encounter cordycep spores that infect ants. And the fungal cells will begin to grow inside their bodies.”
She said: “At first this ant may act normal, but eventually it will stop participating in the nest foraging. It will begin to communicate poorly with its nest mates. This ant then begins to no longer be active in the daily life of other ants. For example, most carpenter ants forage at night. But in general, infected ants are active all the time.”
The professor added that at one point Infected ants will walk away from the colony. They may then climb and eat branches or vines. “This is where the fungus quickly starts to eat everything inside the ant’s body. which will kill that ant Fungi use that energy to produce sprouts that produce mushrooms. Which will have spores that will infect other ants more.”
Cordycep forces ants to climb up tall plants to help the fungus spread its spores easily.
De Becker said All of these processes normally take days, weeks, or even months. But what we see in The Last of Us happens much faster than it really is.
Gynologists consider that This fungus is not able to control ants or other creatures with such a will. Rather, it is simply the secretion of certain chemicals that can bind to or interact with receptors or other types of proteins involved in the nervous system in that organism. For example, these receptors may be receptors that normally bind to dopamine or serotonin. which may encourage certain behaviors in particular
The key question is, is this Cordycep fungus capable of infecting humans?
The answer is “cannot” Because one thing that must be understood is The human body is very different from that of insects or invertebrates. especially body temperature Even with this infection in humans, corcycep are unable to initiate the process of controlling our brains as ants do.
In addition, Cordycep is actually a fungus that we know better as. “Change rental” which is a Chinese herb that has been studied for hundreds of years And in the past, no one has eaten cordyceps and there has been a mutation.
Importantly, one strain of Cordycep is specific to only one insect or organism. If a human zombie could be born because of Cordycep, it would only be when it mutated until it could spread and be specific to the structure and function of the human body.
However, the current global warming problem that causes the world’s average temperature to rise As a result, some fungi (not Cordycep) began to adapt to warmer climates.
Arturo Casadevall, a microbiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said: “Fungi adapt to warmer climates by developing a greater tolerance to heat. Then some can grow at human temperatures and cause new types of fungal diseases that we haven’t seen before.”
He gave an example of a new type of fungi called White ears which caused a serious infection in the bloodstream It originated on different continents and spread to the United States. There is a patient with COVID-19 Infected with this infection in many hospitals.
He conducted an experiment to compare the temperature sensitivity of fungi. White ears It was found to have the ability to survive warmer temperatures than its predecessor, making it “a new fungal species emerging as a result of modern climate change.”
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Image from Getty Images.
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