News California Wildfires Could Make 'The Last of Us' A Reality.

[DarkStar]

California wildfires could make 'The Last of Us' a REALITY

As HBO finally confirms the release date of The Last of Us season two, scientists say the show's premise could soon be a reality - and disasters like the California wildfires could be to blame.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Even in the world of video games and television, a zombie plague carried by a deadly fungus sounds almost too far-fetched.

But as HBO finally confirms the release date of The Last of Us season two, scientists say the show's terrifying premise could soon be a reality.

I've never played the Last of Us, and I've no intent since I've head it's quite a soy game. However, this article piqued my interest, so I want to cover it.

Although there are no mushrooms capable of turning you into a zombie, experts are increasingly concerned that fungi could trigger the next pandemic.

Not sure why, I've always found fungi to be a bit interesting.

And scientists say that the disasters like the California wildfires could be to blame.

As the climate around us grows warmer, fungi are rapidly adapting to hotter temperatures, which could allow them to thrive in our blood, lungs, and brains.

Already, scientists have discovered deadly fungi that are capable of spreading from person to person just like in The Last of Us.

From the article they linked:

The fungus infects both male and female houseflies, but the new study, led by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, focused on the effect of female infection to attract male flies.

The scientists gave male flies the option to mate with infected and non-infected dead females.

'Healthy males are attracted to fungus-killed cadavers [dead bodies] and engage in courtship and mating attempts, which significantly increase infection of new host individuals and thereby ensures transmission of the fungal pathogen,' the authors say.

'Infection with E. muscae induces changes in the volatile chemistry that attract house flies by both altering the levels of cuticular fly hydrocarbons and by producing several unusual volatile compounds.'

The 'unusual volatile compounds' include a class of chemicals called sesquiterpenes, not previously associated with house flies.

Sesquiterpenes have already been found to be attractive in several other insects, the researchers report, including the Asian honey bee and bumblebees.

Previous studies have already detailed E. muscae's ruthless process of infection. Its genus name, Entomophthora translates to 'destroyer of insects' – and it's no surprise why.

Once infected, spores called conidia are produced from the fly – a process called sporulation.

E. muscae causes flies to ascend to a high point and spread their wings like a marionette on a string, to eventually spew the spores from their swollen abdomen.

The fungus invades the fruit fly's nervous system and forces it to embark on the fatal climb, known as 'summit disease', before devouring the brain and muscles.

When the fly is dead, the fungi grows an array of micro-sized stalks on the corpse, each one a pressurised cannon of liquid with a spore that can be ejected outwards.

Unfortunate male flies are attracted to 'zombie' female fly corpses – and when they accidentally trigger the cannons, they end up coated in a spray of infectious spores.

This ensures that the fungal spores are dispersed as widely as possible so the gruesome process happens again on another fly.

tl;dr basically the foid fly is eventually subdued due to E. muscae causing for it to become "zombified" and then eventually die, but leaving these spores. Ofc, since the blackpill is law in nature, we see "le innocent foidflies" luring in unsuspecting male flies even after they're a corpse.

The study focused on females because males are thought to be more likely to come into contact with spores via sexual contact with an infected female.

'So besides both males and females being attracted to the conidia, the males will additionally have a sexual attraction to the conidia-ridden cadavers, which they physically associate with through copulation attempts,' Naundrup said.

Interestingly, release of the chemicals during infection, and the initial volatile attraction of the fungus's next victim, could even be related to feeding.

furthermore, it does seem that these fungal spores utilize males innate sexual desires to spread.

And as extreme weather makes wildfires more likely, scientists say that deadly spores could be spread across the country in clouds of smoke.

Dr Martin Hoenigl, an expert on fungal pathogens from the Medical University of Graz, told MailOnline: 'Generally speaking, there is definitely a possibility that fungi may cause a pandemic.'

As climate change makes the planet less habitable for humans, it only becomes a better place for fungi.

In recent years, experts have become increasingly alarmed by the rapid spread of fungal infections outside of their normal ranges.

However, natural disasters like the LA wildfires could lead to fungal infections spreading even further.

Dr Hoenigl says: 'Humans have adapted to the increasing number of disasters, so the number of human fatalities has remained stable over the last few decades despite higher frequency of natural disasters.

'However, these disasters can, in the short and in the long-term facilitate fungal diseases by spreading fungal pathogens with wind or wildfire smoke.'

However, one of the things that makes fungi unique is their incredible capacity to adapt.

That means that while fungi generally prefer to live where it is cool, the warmer the planet gets the better they become at surviving the heat.

Dr Hoenigl says: 'By adapting to increasing temperatures in the environment, this brings them closer to being able to survive also at the human body temperature, and thereby becoming a threat to us humans.'

As the shifting climate alters global weather patterns, this can also expand existing fungal pathogens' natural ranges.

'Fungi learn to adapt to all these stress factors, and by doing that they unfortunately also learn to cause more harm to us humans when they infect us.'

For example, fungal melanin, a pigment produced in response to heat, also offers fungi protection against acids, heavy metals, UV radiation, and radioactive waste.

To make matters worse, higher temperatures increase the rate at which fungi pick up mutations, making it more likely that they will develop resistance to anti-fungal treatments.

That means climate change is creating more fungi capable of entering our bodies and making those fungi even more deadly and harder to treat.

Basically, the warmer the planet get allows for Fungi to adapt, which is highlighted here, and is a danger to us since it means any virus originating from fungi could easily match our body temperatures and thus have an easier time spreading & infecting.

Furthermore:

In California, diagnoses of 'Valley fever' which is caused by the fungus coccidioidomycosis, rose by 800 per cent between 2000 and 2018.

Meanwhile, in India, thousands of people contracted 'black fungus', scientifically known as mucormycosis, a disease which consumes the airways and faces of the infected.

Whilst also:

Once the fungus is inside us, it can spread through any part of the body including the blood, lungs, kidneys, and even our brains.

Some fungi will secrete toxins which damage the tissues around them, but others cause damage simply by forcing their way through the flesh.

Just like the infected in The Last of Us, real fungal infections fill the body with filaments called mycelium which cause physical damage to the body.

'Particularly in the lung, you can get these big balls of fungi forming, they cause a lot of bleeding and eventually, the lung stops working,' says Dr Drummond.

'We see the same thing in the brain with meningitis with what we call a cryptocoma. It's almost like a tumour but filled with fungal cells that cause a lot of damage.'

This sounds pretty terrifying tbh. COVID(ridiculous scare anyways) pales in comparison to this, which can go undetected for so long seemingly and which literally eats you more or less.

Here's in fact, a more better example of this process & specific type of fungus:

What is the 'zombie fungus'?​

The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis was the inspiration for The Last of Us because of its unique reproductive method.
The fungus infects forest ants and burrows into their brains and nervous systems.
The fungus then secretes chemicals which force the ant to leave its colony and find a climate which is right for the fungus.
The ant will climb off the ground and attach itself to a leaf.
Then, the fruiting body of the fungus bursts out of the ant and spreads its spores onto any nearby insects, starting the cycle again.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vijGdWn5-h8

In 2022, researchers found that wolves in Yellowstone National Park infected with a fungus called Toxoplasma gondii were more likely to either leave their pack or become its leader.

However, Dr Drummond doesn't think it's likely that any fungi will be able to take over the human body like we see in the show.

She says: 'Fungi can change your brain chemistry, we see this in drugs like magic mushrooms, but that's quite different to the infections we see with pathogenic fungi.

'Things like cordyceps are so well adapted to their insect hosts, it's unlikely that we'll see a big shift like in The Last of Us.'

But how sure can we really be?

However, thanks to the way climate change is changing fungi, the global picture could soon look very different.

In 2009, Japanese doctors discovered a new species of fungi in a woman who was undergoing treatment for an ear infection.

Named candida auris, it was hypothesised to be the first fungi to have emerged due to the pressures of climate change.

While the disease had probably lived in the wild before, rising temperatures meant that it could suddenly make the jump into humans.

Two years later, it had appeared independently in Venezuela, South Africa, and in India.

By 2019, candida auris was so widespread that the WHO classified it as an 'urgent threat to public health'.

So basically, we already kind of have an example of this.

What makes this so worrying is that candida auris can spread from person to person by sitting on surfaces.

This is especially dangerous in hospitals where the fungus can cause outbreaks by attaching itself to members of staff.

Additionally, candida auris is already strongly resistant to three of the most common antifungal treatments and several disinfectants, making it especially difficult to remove.

Yikes.

Here's what is currently the alleged most threatening fungal pathogens; I probably will do more research on this.

 

[DarkStar]

Something different for a change, found this quite interesting and would like to research more on fungal pathogens:

Spoiler

@proudweeb @Da_Yunez @SupremeAutist @WorthlessSlavicShit @reveries @AtrociousCitizen @LeFrenchCel @OwariDa @KILLEVERYLASTCURRY @Castaway @Horatio NiggER bird @KillNiggers @Grodd @Biowaste Removal @NeverGetUp

 

[SupremeAutist]

Great another way that this world can become even more hellish

 

[LeFrenchCel]

Not sure if we should rejoice or be afraid

 

[KillNiggers]

Lifefuel because I don't live in a hot climate.

 

[SupremeAutist]

Not sure if we should rejoice or be afraid

Not the kind of way I'd want humanity to end. Getting taken over by fungi sounds terrifying.

Ideally an asteroid would just hit the earth again and give us a quicker death

 

[LeFrenchCel]

Not the kind of way I'd want humanity to end. Getting taken over by fungi sounds terrifying.

Ideally an asteroid would just hit the earth again and give us a quicker death

Any normie death is good to me ngl

 

[Da_Yunez]

California wildfires could make 'The Last of Us' a REALITY

As HBO finally confirms the release date of The Last of Us season two, scientists say the show's premise could soon be a reality - and disasters like the California wildfires could be to blame.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I've never played the Last of Us, and I've no intent since I've head it's quite a soy game. However, this article piqued my interest, so I want to cover it.


Not sure why, I've always found fungi to be a bit interesting.

From the article they linked:



tl;dr basically the foid fly is eventually subdued due to E. muscae causing for it to become "zombified" and then eventually die, but leaving these spores. Ofc, since the blackpill is law in nature, we see "le innocent foidflies" luring in unsuspecting male flies even after they're a corpse.


furthermore, it does seem that these fungal spores utilize males innate sexual desires to spread.






Basically, the warmer the planet get allows for Fungi to adapt, which is highlighted here, and is a danger to us since it means any virus originating from fungi could easily match our body temperatures and thus have an easier time spreading & infecting.

Furthermore:



Whilst also:

This sounds pretty terrifying tbh. COVID(ridiculous scare anyways) pales in comparison to this, which can go undetected for so long seemingly and which literally eats you more or less.

Here's in fact, a more better example of this process & specific type of fungus:



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vijGdWn5-h8



But how sure can we really be?


So basically, we already kind of have an example of this.


Yikes.

Here's what is currently the alleged most threatening fungal pathogens; I probably will do more research on this.

If fungi pandemic really happens, im so fucked mang (Live in Honduras with tropical climate)

 

[reveries]

Cool, one more existential threat, as if we don't have enough of those already

 

[Jud Pottah]

Never leave the basedment, lads

 

[DarkStar]

Great another way that this world can become even more hellish

I know the whole "Kali Yuga" thing is thrown around a lot. But each day that passes, I genuinely believe that we are in it and all of the stuff which was predicted was hyperbolic/metaphorical wording

Not sure if we should rejoice or be afraid

Afraid tbh, sounds like a bitch of a way to go

Not the kind of way I'd want humanity to end. Getting taken over by fungi sounds terrifying.

Ideally an asteroid would just hit the earth again and give us a quicker death

Yeah exactly mang, I just want it all to end as quickly as possible.

 

[Scatius Deletus]

Keep in mind that The Last Of Us was made by a Jew, what did they mean by this?

 

[SuperKanga.Belgrade]

Cool, one more existential threat, as if we don't have enough of those already

 

[Horatio NiggER bird]

I guess I should move to Alaska then

just in case

 

[sexualeconomist]

I'm ready for the zombie apocalypse

 

[AtrociousCitizen]

This is interesting. I remember reading about this topic a few months back. It's just another sign of how our world is slowly being destroyed. Climate change is causing a lot of ecological chaos and it was mostly caused by humanity's relentless drive to destroy everything in our path. Soon enough, we won't even have our own planet to inhabit.

 

[Grodd]

Not sure if we should rejoice or be afraid

 

[Grodd]

Another reason to never go outside

 

[DarkStar]

Another reason to never go outside

3D Chess move

 

[WorthlessSlavicShit]

A terrifying but interesting thought. Read everything, thanks for sharing and the tag.