File:The Biology Behind The Last of Us - WIRED-2

The infection from HBO's The Last of Us is actually based on a real parasitic fungus. This fungus turns insects into zombies. The creators of the game and the show were inspired by zombie carpenter ants. WIRED spoke with Dr. Charissa de Bekker to talk about the real fungus that inspired the show's infected, and how the show's zombies parallel these real-life ants.

Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey Editor: Ron Douglas Expert: Dr. Charissa de Bekker

Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi Associate Producer: Brandon White Production Manager: Eric Martinez Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila

Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen Assistant Editors: Andy Morell, Paul Tael

Still haven’t subscribed to WIRED on YouTube? ►► http://wrd.cm/15fP7B7 Listen to the Get WIRED podcast ►► https://link.chtbl.com/wired-ytc-desc Want more WIRED? Get the magazine ►► https://subscribe.wired.com/subscribe/splits/wired/WIR_YouTube?source=EDT_WIR_YouTube_0_Video_Description_ZZ

Follow WIRED:

Instagram ►►https://instagram.com/wired Twitter ►►http://www.twitter.com/wired Facebook ►►https://www.facebook.com/wired

Get more incredible stories on science and tech with our daily newsletter: https://wrd.cm/DailyYT

Also, check out the free WIRED channel on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.

ABOUT WIRED WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. Through thought-provoking stories and videos, WIRED explores the future of business, innovation, and culture.