New season of The Last of Us has a chance at realism—scientists discuss ‘zombie fungus’

The Last of Us is back on April 13 and this season is more realistic than ever.

The trailer for the hit HBO series appears to show the “zombie fungus” cordyceps infecting humans by releasing airborne spores, instead of through tentacles—closer to scientific reality.

“Fungi love to make spores,” says Dr. Jim Kronstad, a professor and microbiologist at UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories. Real-life cordyceps colonizes ant brains, causing the insect to climb to a high branch. The fungus then punches through the ant’s head and rains spores down on the forest floor.

Indeed, many fungal diseases that infect humans, such as Cryptococcus neoformans, which causes meningitis in humans, are spread by inhaling spores.

It’s not the only thing the show gets right. In The Last of Us, cordyceps—which is harmless, even edible, in real life—evolved into a harmful fungus thanks to a warming climate.

In a recent Nature paper, Dr. Kronstad and co-authors highlight a warming climate as a potential contributor to the spread of harmful fungi like Coccidioides, which causes valley fever, and the current rise of Candida auris, which infects hospitalized patients and is resistant to available antifungal drugs.

The authors also noted the discovery of a new fungus last year, Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis, in humans, which had previously been found only in the environment.

Fungi aren’t all bad. They recycle dead organic material and serve as huge carbon sinks. They can be used to make strong, lightweight materials, including materials that could be used in space. We use fungi in a range of foods and ingredients, including in vegan burgers.

“Fungi are super important, it’s phenomenal what they’ve done for humans,” adds Dr. Kronstad.