The Biology Behind The Last of Us | WIRED

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

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