Ever wondered if a mind-controlling fungus can take over our world? Welcome to the world of the TV Series “Last of Us.
The Last of Us transports the audience into a world taken over by a spine-chilling fungus that would take control of its host’s mind. So naturally, I was curious if there could be a possibility of a fungus-caused pandemic, according to CNET the virus that was shown in the HBO series was slightly altered based on the original virus that the Naughty Dog video game came up with.
Upon further research, if there was a fungus that could control its host’s mind I was surprised to find that the cordyceps
virus was actually inspired by a real mind-controlling fungus found in nature. Yes, you read that right there’s such a thing as a mind-controlling fungus that would infect its host’s mind, replace its tissues, and would grow stems outside the host’s body then release spores into the air infecting other insects.
Now that we’ve discussed what this fungus is capable of in the real world let us now talk about the fictional virus that's being used in the game and the series. In the fictional world, the cordyceps virus would have four stages that the host would have to undergo. During the first stage of the infection, the host would lose higher brain function (as well as their humanity), rendering the host hyper-aggressive and incapable of reason or rational thought. And with that, we’re left with nothing but the shell of the person who only lives to survive and to spread its spores everywhere.
But the main thought that we’re going for here is Ïs this virus capable of mutating to infect a human?’ If we’re talking about a natural mutation like the virus adapting to different kinds of weather well…it’s not quite possible.
But if we humans are greedy enough and once we humans finally have the technology capable of mutating such a virus then there is a possibility of this turning into a reality. The idea of Man-eating viruses and Mind-controlling fungi is already in our heads. And what’s to say that there are no scientists that are already trying to create such a bioweapon at this very time? Is this the last of us?
To read more about the CNET Article, go to CNET.com
To view the series, go to HBO or get HBO Go.
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