The mushroom zombie phenomenon like The Last of Us is experienced by insects. Nevertheless, scientists can use it as a pest control or biological control agent.
Biologist from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Professor Rosichon Ubaidillah MPhil, PhD, explained this in the 'Eureka! 13th Edition: Zombie Attack!', Monday (30/1/2023) night. According to him, in his field, the use of insect zombies is nothing new.
"The natural phenomenon of insect zombies has been widely used. In fact, in my field, it is used for pest control in agriculture or biological control. Maybe for military friends, it can also be used as a biological control weapon," he said.
The momentum of 'The Last of Us', according to Prof. Rosichon, can be an encouragement to learn about biology, especially zombie attacks in the real world. Humans still have great homework to study the living things around us. The inspiration for this phenomenon has many benefits for the agricultural community, for example it can be used to control ants, to control other pests such as control agents.
"Then for biology students, there are still many types of insect zombies whose species are unknown, the species name is unknown, their function is unknown, their potential, and whether they can be used for medicines are unknown," he explained.
"Therefore, in relation to this insect zombie, we still have much to do and we must continue to work on this as a potential for our nature, Indonesia's nature, which can prosper this nation through research results that can truly be industrialized," he said.