#164 The Last of Us: the science of a fungal zombie apocalypse
The World, the Universe and Us
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Cordyceps Unilateralis
Zombie fungi principally affect insects to determine their transmission. Massuspeura circuitina has the longest life cycle of any fungus because it infects cicadas that have a 17 year periodic cycle. Cordyceps unilateralis produces psychoactive compound called hypoxanthinine which causes carpenter ants to climb up leaf stems and then to clamp on.
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