'The Last of Us' makes people curious about what Cordyceps is. Apparently, there are important lessons to be learned from the Cordyceps mushroom as well as the science fiction film itself.
Biological scientist from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Professor Rosichon Ubaidillah MPhil, PhD, said that real-world information about insect zombies provides many lessons for humans. One of them as pest control or biological control agent.
Apart from that, the beauty of science can also inspire filmmakers to create very interesting science fiction films. This indicates, there is never anything wrong with studying biology.
"It's productive and it can teach a lesson to all of us. Try if there's no film, it won't be crowded, people won't know and so on. Because I made this film, I thank the filmmakers, this is a warning for us," he said .
Although, the possibility of a Cordyceps mushroom zombie occurring in humans is very small. Rosichon believes it took a very long time for evolution to make the jump to humans. However, the series 'The Last of Us' can serve as a reminder that there are also other microbial threats such as bacteria or viruses.
"Global warming that will occur may result in the emergence or reemerging of a frightening infectious disease which is more than a bio condition in ants. I think that is the lesson we need to learn," he explained.
Unique facts about Cordyceps in the series 'The Last of Us'
In the series 'The Last of Us' it is stated that mushrooms are connected to each other. Apparently, in the real world, mushrooms do have a network system that is connected to one another. This is called micellar.
Misellia in the form of so many stalks. If based on the description in the series 'The Last of Us', it is like 'noodles' that spread and are connected to each other.
"They are connected to one another and later spores emerge, which I have previously called ascostroma, these are spore bags which are also related to micellia or stalks that are connected to one another," he concluded.