Scientists reveal what zombies would REALLY look like - and say the possessed humans in the Last of Us Season 2 aren't far off
With the second season of The Last of Us returning to our screens, it might be comforting to think that the show is purely fictional.
But believe it or not, the show's haunting zombies aren't that far from reality.
Real-life 'zombie-making' fungi burrow into their host's flesh and manipulate their minds to turn them into hyperactive super spreaders.
As it stands, these mind-warping parasites only affect certain insects.
However, the stages of infection are eerily similar to those seen in the hit HBO show.
Now, MailOnline has used artificial intelligence (AI) to reveal exactly what zombies would like like in the real-world.
As these terrifying images reveal, The Last of Us comes pretty close to capturing what possessed humans could look like.
However, experts say there are some key details that The Last of Us didn't get quite right.
MailOnline has used artificial intelligence (AI) to reveal exactly what zombies would like like in the real-world
The Last of Us (pictured) comes pretty close to capturing what possessed humans could look like
Stage one: Infection
Fungi spread themselves through the environment in the form of spores - tiny single-cell seeds which can lie dormant for years before germinating.
In the insect world, these spores infect their hosts in a particularly gruesome fashion.
Dr Charissa de Becker, an expert on zombie fungus from Utrecht University, says: 'When such spores land on an ant they can germinate and burrow themselves through the exoskeleton of the insect to infect.'
However, in humans, the process of infection is likely to be a little bit different.
Since human skin is thicker than a fungi can dig through, the spores need to get into our soft tissue before they can germinate.
Dr Rebecca Drummond, a fungal immunologist from the University of Bristol, told MailOnline: 'Most fungi enter the body when we breathe in the spores.'
Once in the lungs the spores can germinate and begin growing inside our bodies.
Stage two: Colonisation
Once the fungi is established in its host, it can begin the process of taking over their body.
Since insects have an 'open circulation system', their blood isn't enclosed in vessels like veins so the fungus can fill its entire body.
However, humans' tougher bodies and 'closed' circulation system mean that a fungus would need to spread more destructively to take over our bodies.
The fungi will produce thread-like structures called hyphae which force their way through our flesh, bursting blood vessels and airways.
'This is another way in which they can spread through the body – by making holes in vessels and allowing them to "escape" to new places,' says Dr Drummond.
Just like the infected in The Last of Us, it might not be obvious if someone is infected at this stage just by looking at them.
Dr Matt Kasson, Associate Professor of Mycology at West Virginia University and expert on zombie fungi, told MailOnline: 'Most fungi that infect humans aside from yeasts don’t really produce outward fruiting bodies or spore-bearing structures on humans.
As this AI image shows, the fungi would burst through into the bloodstream and spread through the entire body, feeding on flesh
'Hypothetically speaking, I imagine infections would be outwardly boring but inwardly devastating.'
However, as the infection becomes more advanced, the fungus would take over more of the body.
Fungal skin diseases such as the 'black fungus' infection can lead to the loss of limbs and eyes, so someone infected with a real zombie virus might show some similar symptoms.
Stage three: Control
It is at this stage that the fungus starts to take control of its host's actions with a mixture of mind-altering chemicals and physical manipulation.
Dr Kasson says: 'The host engages in a set of defined behaviours starting with cutting off communication with nestmates followed by staggering and hyperactivity.'
In Ophiocordyceps-infected ants, one of the first signs that the fungus is taking control is a sudden burst of movement.
At the same time, the ants are beset by a series of sudden spasms so violent that they often fall out of the forest canopy.
Fungal skin diseases such as the 'black fungus' infection can lead to the loss of limbs and eyes, so someone infected with a real zombie virus might show some similar symptoms
The real development of the infection in ants parallels the 'runner' stage in The Last of Us. During this stage, the infected are fast and aggressive but don't show outward signs of infection
This is remarkably similar to the 'runner' stage of the infection in The Last of Us which creates super-fast and ultra-aggressive zombies.
The difference between real zombies and those in the show is that the infected ants' hyperactivity is aimed at keeping them away from others.
Ants are extremely sensitive to the smell of illness in the nest and will attack, kill, and dismember any other ant showing signs of infection.
This means the fungus must keep the ant running around so it doesn't get spotted and killed before the parasite has time to develop.
In terms of The Last of Us, this is very similar to the 'stalker' stage of the infection.
Rather than rushing about at random like the runners, these zombies have learned to hide themselves from those they want to infect - just like an infected carpenter ant.
However, what the show gets completely wrong about fungal zombies is the idea that the brain would be destroyed by an infection.
Throughout the show, we see that zombies in a more advanced state of infection, called 'clickers', have their heads totally destroyed by the fungus which bursts out from within.
Infected ants' evasive behaviour matches the 'stalker' infected from The Last of Us which have learned to hide from those they want to infect
In reality, studies have shown that the Ophiocordyceps fungus actually saves its host's brain right up until the moment it kills them.
Stage 4: Dispersal
Two weeks after the host was first infected by a spore, the fungus is finally ready to spread itself to the next generation of hosts.
Unlike in The Last of Us, most real zombie fungi don't do this through physical contact, but by spreading their spores as far as possible.
Ants infected by Ophiocordyceps are forced to climb to the highest point they can find before attaching themselves to the underside of a leaf in a 'death grip'.
The fungus then consumes its host and uses the energy to grow a long mushroom-like stalk which bursts out of the ant's back or head - raining spores on the ants below and starting the cycle again.
'Ultimately the entire inside of the ant can be replaced by fungus leaving only the exoskeleton intact,' says Dr Kasson.
If real zombies followed a similar pattern, the final stage of the infection would be death as the fungus consumes their entire body to produce more spores.
If a human infection follows the example of Ophiocordyceps-infected insects, the zombie infection would likely end with the fungus consuming the body to create a fruiting body in order to spread more spores
By the final stage of infection, the fungi will consume the entirety of its host to produce fruiting bodies. Zombies may anchor themselves to high points like infected ants, in order to spread the spores further
Fungi which infect cicada are more similar to the more advanced stages of infection in The Last of Us which are almost entirely consumed by the fungus even as they are compelled to spread it further
However, there is an even more sinister example that a real fungal zombie could follow.
Massospora cicadina, a fungus which infects cicadas, causes the total destruction of its host genitalia and replaces them with a 'fungal spore mass'.
At the same time fungi in the Massospora family hijack their host's sexual arousal pathways to send them into a reproductive frenzy.
The infected cicada will then try to mate with as many other insects as possible, spreading the spores bursting from its decaying abdomen as it goes.
So, if the Last of Us does take a real-life zombie fungus for its inspiration, Massospora might make an even more terrifying choice.
Could The Last of Us come true?
Luckily, there's no need to worry just yet about The Last of Us coming true since these zombie fungi can't infect humans.
Our body temperatures are typically too high for fungi adapted for insects to survive.
Luckily for us, scientists say that The Last of Us isn't going to come true any time soon since fungi that are adapted to insects can't survive in our bodies
Just like Ellie from the show (pictured), all humans have a natural immunity to the effects of a zombie fungus called our 'blood brain barrier'. This stops the manipulating chemicals from getting into our brains
Even if they could survive inside our bodies, these fungi would struggle to turn humans into zombies.
Dr de Bekker, a zombie fungus expert from Utrecht University, told MailOnline: 'We have something called a blood brain barrier that doesn’t just let any old molecule pass.
'So being able to get its bioactive molecules needed for manipulation in the right place will be another big barrier.'
However, if a zombie fungi really did evolve to infect humans, it might follow a similar pattern to what we see in insects.
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