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...

Follow WIRED:

Instagram ►►  / wired  
Twitter ►►  / wired  
Facebook ►►  / 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.