Mushrooms ‘mutating and spreading’ as world faces Last of Us fungus zombie apocalypse
Scientists have revealed the show is based on fact and that the situation is getting worse as the world gets warmer, allowing some types of fungus to mutate and spread
The world is heading towards a mushroom zombie apocalypse like The Last Of Us, boffins say. The hit TV show returned this week where a fungal infection turns people into the murderous undead.
But scientists have revealed the show is based on fact and is getting worse as the world gets warmer. Dr Jim Kronstad, professor and microbiologist at the University of British Columbia, said jovially: “Fungi love to make spores!”
Parasitic shroom cordyceps forces its way into ant brains and takes over. It then orders the ant to climb to highest branch and punches its way through the ant’s head to rain spores down onto the forest floor below.
Candida auris can infect the bloodtsream then the central nervous system and internal organs and is resistant to all known drugs.
It was first discovered in a 70-year-old woman in Japan in 2009 and cases quickly followed in South Korea and India.
The first case in Britain happened was discovered in 2016 and the following year it was called a ‘catastrophic threat’ by the American Center for Disease Control.
Prof Kronstad said rising temperatures meant the fungi had been forced to mutate to cope and helped it spread to places like Britain.
He said: “I think there is definitely a concern with climate change, as an important way that we keep fungi in check is because most of them can’t grow at our high body temperatures.
“Increasing global temperatures offers an opportunity for fungi to adapt, as they have pretty fast generation times and mutations may occur that help them survive at higher temperatures.”
The Daily Star recently reported that a fungus has been discovered growing on the Number 4 reactor in Chernobyl, feeding off the radiation that preceded the tragic Chernobyl nuclear disaster which led to thousands evacuating.
It has adapted to “feed” on levels of radiation which would kill most other life forms.
Scientists have observed the highly resilient black fungus Cladosporium sphaerospermum growing on the walls of the Number 4 reactor, the piece of equipment that exploded in 1986 and led to the fire that destroyed the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Experts have noted how the fungus has adapted over the years to use radiation as a source of energy.
Scientists studying the fungus are now rubbing at the prospect the species could be harnessed to protect humans from radiation, particularly during deep space missions.
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