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The zombie-ant fungus is easily identifiable when its reproductive structure becomes apparent on its dead host, usually a carpenter ant. At the end of its life cycle, O. unilateralis typically generates a single, wiry yet pliant, darkly pigmented stroma which arises from the dorsal pronotum region of the ant once it is dead. [ 8 ]
According to the National Library of Medicine, Cordyceps is a composite of a fungus that grows on the larva of insects, basically taking over their bodies. But it can't jump to humans .
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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.
The ant clamps it jaws around the plant in a "death grip" and following, mycelia grow from the ant's feet and stitch them to the surface of the plant. [9] The spores released from the ant carcass fall to the ground and infect other ants that come in contact with the spores so that this cycle continues. [ 10 ]
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 ...
A disease-causing fungus featured in the post-apocalyptic TV series The Last of Us could lead to a gamechanging cancer drug, scientists say in a new study. In the dystopian world of the TV series ...
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.