Cordyceps, Zombies and Fungal Infections - Doctor Explains the Science Behind "The Last of Us"
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 июл 2024
- Could the fungal infection featured in HBO's "The Last of Us" really happen? Dr. George Thompson, professor of clinical medicine at UC Davis School of Medicine, explains how cordyceps fungus can infect and control insects like ants, the likelihood of a similar infection affecting humans, and how climate change is affecting the way fungal diseases spread. Dr. Thompson specializes in the care of patients with invasive fungal infections and has research interest in fungal diagnostics and host immunogenetics.
See the latest news from UC Davis Health: health.ucdavis.edu/newsroom
0:00 Could the infection in "The Last of Us" really happen?
0:22 How can cordyceps affect insects?
1:03 Can humans be infected by cordyceps fungus?
1:24 The effects of climate change on fungal disease spread
1:58 The dangers of fungal diseases
The information in this video was accurate as of the upload date, 2/16/23. For information purposes only. Consult your local medical authority for advice.
#thelastofus #cordyceps #ucdavis 
Наука
This makes me sleep sound tonight. Thank you, doc.
My thoughts exactly. I dream every night and in full color! 99% are just strange and not nightmares. This could be the night...
The precision of these mushrooms is insane.
In one type of ophiocordyceps sub types, every ant went under the leaf, around 25cm centimeters off from the ground, always to the northern side of the tree, always biting to the leaves stalk, always dropping it spores to an place that had near exact temperatures and humidity. Every aspect that I've mentioned here was replicated by the mushroom 95%-100% accuracy (100% were achieved on the "under the leaf" behavior if I remember correctly and no one of those dipped below 95% accuracy every time they were observed.
Most weirdest thing is that we assume it does not affect the brain at all, we have found no active cells in ant brains, but the assumption goes that it takes control of the all motor function, so you would be totally aware if the mushroom does not excrete any psychoactive waste products to it's host.
We assume it would make you an meat robot that it would precisely control to find the parameters it finds the most comfy and you could only watch, do the mushroom dance and accept that you are the mushroom now until the day you expire. And the infection would work nearly uniformally, so you can expect what happens and when. Like it would force us up to the light post and freeze to an point that we don't drop and the mushroom feels "😎", we die on the post, some part of us busts open, we sprinkle the spores and now it's a different guy that has to do the jig.
All things fungal is the stuff of nightmares, everything.
We have theories that mushrooms communicate between each other with electric singals like us (observed but we have nothing to link the singals to, and we don't think they are whispering sweet nothings to each other)
One species could theoretically work as an possible hive mind (Highly debated and has no foundation, but food for thought)
All we know that fungus seems to stick to very specific patters and works by communicating this to the mushroom "units" between the massive fungal mycorrhizal network.
-Mushroom man.
This is interesting. To say that it doesn’t impact “active cells” is an assumption in itself because ants HAVE to have an engine. If put into a situation WITH active cells I wonder what effects would be (if I’m following correctly)
Like hypothetically IF it developed a heat resistance and was passed to people- would it only have the capacity to impact our motor AND thinking neurological?
Like would we consciously be awake while moving to its “ideal condition” unable to speak due to motor hijack? We’d be able to communicate to some degree similar to rabies (which I was just researching)?
Just some interesting hypotheticals
@@BoomBurster This is a hard question because we have so different nervous systems, it might be that it would make us "self aware" automatons that are forced to do something or it might be that it could have a drastic neurologic impact, we might never know.
Doctor explanation: "We don't think so"
Exactly what I was about to comment.
"We don't think..." Are the words behind every disaster and pandemic that has happened in the world
Followed by "gain of function research" as a just in case 🤷♂️
The amount of people in the comment section that have not picked up a single scientific textbook and properly read it is frightening
welcome to science son
But still, some fungi may be poisonous or irritate skin.
Or have vomiting and symptoms of a disease, so be aware that not every fungi is safe
Go deeper! Immunodeficiency Period!
0:27 Was that a bird?!? 😱
No. It’s just cordyceps.
@@blacknoir606 I know it’s cordyceps, but I’m talking about that poor creature that it infected that was shaped like a bird. Pause it at my timestamp and look on the right. It looks like a head, eye and a beak of a bird.
nothing is infected there, I think it's just ground
Minor- i know.... : but why does he pronounce "Fungi" (Fun- ghee) as the following: "Fun- jai" ? Have i been saying it wrong all my life? Is it because hes educated in america and im British?
Welp looks like PeaShooters and cherry bombs are gonna get us out of this one
😂
Gene splice it with cocci ....
That's why left 4 dead released on that day coz of cordyceps
Just the thought of it......
I’ve got this 😮
A fungi zombie is possible in evolution nature or something else
Bro said funjuy at 1:11
That’s exactly the moment I lost trust in their expertise
ever heard of plural form?
@Gkw95 I think they were referring to the fact that he pronounced it with a soft g instead of a hard g
@jameskilduff4011 @blacknoir606
I really don't think you degenerate children have the right to mock/insult a professional who went to school and got an education for this subject/topic. 🤦 You kids are proof why people should stay in school so they can be intelligent and not make fools of themselves on the internet, exactly how you are doing.
Yikes the The Last of Us is not based on a myth?
Nope, but don't worry, from what I know, Cordyceps takes a loooooooooong time to evolve, maybe decades and even millions of years, maybe even never.
@@lamelemin5508Until it finds it's way into a lab in China, Ukraine, or Boston University and gets tampered with.
@@samfisher9413 technically the *Echidnas*has the potential to become the first mammal to become infected because of its lower body temperature
don't really think any of those countries would want to do so because creating a bioweapon using cordyceps is inefficient as it'd take way too much effort to mutate it and it could easily backfire on you if you're trying to use it.
@@lamelemin5508 Don't underestimate the sheet stupidity of humanity. We can be grade at dipshits at times. Especially collectively.
😊if I feel that bored might twik it abit
Maybe don't
i have fungus on my tongue.. horrible
what if the world gets wormer?????
what if climate change forced them to evolve thus able to handle higher temperature? we could not catch up with that kind of evolution we take too long to evolve
So this “expert” says it’s in the brain when it isn’t. At all actually. It’s more muscle control than mind control.
I’m sure he’s very knowledgable though…
The fungus as to attach to the brain stem and gain control of the nervous system to control the muscle.
@@samfisher9413 it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the brain whatsoever……..,
@@empyrean-jamelgreaves8034 It leaves the brain itself untouched but it literally must infect the brain stem in order to take control of the muscular system of the insect.
@@empyrean-jamelgreaves8034P sure you can't control muscles without controlling nervous system 😂
@@fayyamee nervous system is not really the brain is it? also yes you can. the system is responsible for acknowledging signals from the muscles such as pain, not for moving them altogether, control the cells in the muscles which is what cordyceps does, absolutely nothing to do with the ants brain.