That fungal infection that was introduced to us in The Last of Us is terrifying and what makes it even scarier is the fact that it’s based on a real-life fungal infection! I already talked about this a little bit in my review of the first episode, but Wired has released a fascinating video that takes a deep dive into it and it’s a must watch!
The infection from HBO’s The Last of Us is actually based on a real parasitic fungus. This fungus turns insects into zombies. The creators of the game and the show were inspired by zombie carpenter ants. WIRED spoke with Dr. Charissa de Bekker to talk about the real fungus that inspired the show’s infected, and how the show’s zombies parallel these real-life ants.
I’m fascinated by this kind of stuff, so I enjoyed watching this. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the biology behind the infection, check this out and educate yourself!