Here’s how the Last of Us story could come to life

While there are plenty of articles out there about whether zombie outbreaks could happen, or why they would fail immediately, there's not many kicking around that specifically address recent PS3 exclusive, The Last of Us and its particular brand of zombification: the cordyceps fungus. [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baOlT-1yY4A']

That's what Vsauce3 looks at in this video, where he explains how potentially deadly human diseases can jump from one species to another and how in the case of this fungus, it could perhaps do the same thing. He also shows how it really wouldn't take long for the world to become one big melting pot of infected.

Of course one part he doesn't mention, is that the transmission of the cordyceps fungus is easier in ants, as they breath through spiracles in their carapace. Humans, while still breathing through a giant hole in their face could quite easily wear a gas mask, or a simple surgical mask.

Then there's the fact that the cordyceps doesn't turn its victims into aggressive zombies, it makes them pretty docile and in-fact, just drives them to climb as high as they can and then die – at which point the fungus consumes the host body for sustenance and grows a big fruiting body out of its victims head, before dispersing more spores. In a city setting, infected humans would likely just take the lift to the roof of the tallest building and stand there.

KitGuru Says: Really let's face it, while Last of Us won a lot of accolades, it's not as good as the much more exciting take on the cordyceps fungus in my book, The Medicine. But you've already read it right, so I don't have to plug it?

[Cheers Kotaku]

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