Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, [2] is an insect-pathogenic fungus, discovered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859, Zombie ants, infected by the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus, are predominantly found in tropical rainforests.
The cordyceps "zombie fungus" in 'The Last of Us' is indeed inspired by a real fungi found in ants. But here's what that means for those of us not living in a video-game story.
Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a species that infects the larvae of Tibetan ghost moths, and is used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine. [13] [14] [15] There is currently no scientific evidence that use of this species has any clinically detectable effect on human diseases. [14]
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us
But it can't jump to humans. According to data from Yale School of Medicine , because humans have evolved, and have a high enough body temperature, inhaling this kind of fungal spore has no effect ...
In this case, an infected person becomes a "hungry", a zombie thirsting for blood. In the fiction, Dr. Caldwell explains that the human-infecting fungus is a mutated form of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (a group of species now split off from Cordyceps) which alters the behaviour of infected insects. The children of infected mothers, however ...
“The Last of Us” on HBO imagines outbreak of zombie fungus that controls the brain of the infected. Fungal disease is a major public health threat in real life.
A prominent example of an entomopathogenic fungus is Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, nicknamed the “zombie-ant” fungus. The fungus infects ants and alters their natural behavioral patterns causing the ant to leave their usual environment in the trees in favor of the forest floor – a more suitable environment for fungal growth.