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The Last of Us is creating panic among viewers who fear a real zombie apocalypse

Some viewers of the phenomenal series The Last of Us have expressed concerns about a possible mushroom-induced apocalypse. Do not panic, however, as assured by this world-renowned specialist.

the last of us cordyceps
Credits: Naughty Dog

If you subscribe to Amazon Prime Video, like us, you may be impatiently awaiting a new episode of the phenomenon series The Last of Us every Monday. As a reminder, the HBO series is directly inspired by the universe, the plot and characters introduced in the eponymous game developed by Naughty Dog.

For neophytes, the story features an apocalypse caused by the mutation of a fungusto know cordyceps. In the series and in the games, this fungus, which normally mainly infects ants, now affects humans. As João Araújo, assistant curator of mycology (the study of fungi) at the Botanical Institute of the New York Botanical Garden explains, there are among these parasitic fungi species capable of taking control of their hosts (i.e. 35 at present).

The authors of The Last of Us therefore exploited this particularity of the cordyceps to transpose it on the human being. But if you were scared by the first episodes of the series, don’t panic. Indeed, as the world-renowned mycologist Paul Stamets asserts, mushrooms are not our enemies.

The Last of Us fungus apocalypse is not possible

In a recent Twitter message thread, the pundit praised HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, stating that the series has succeeded with us “take you on a literary adventure in the realm of science fiction while harnessing the public’s fascination, fear and joy for mushrooms”.

Although he is therefore a fan of the series, Paul Stamets remains above all a scientist and he is formal: “Let’s be realistic. Cordyceps cannot infect humans.” He further adds that mushrooms are a wonderful source of remedies and solutions to the problems facing humanity.

In fact, mushrooms today offer us some of the best solutions needed to solve many of the existential threats we face. In fact, cordyceps-like fungi could replace the majority of chemical pesticides with an environmentally sound and economically scalable solution.” he concludes.

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