“The Last of Us’ Fictional Fungus May Not Be So Far-Fetched: The Rise of Life-Threatening Fungi”

It is the hit series of the moment: The Last of Us. Millions of viewers worldwide have been introduced to a fictional world in recent weeks where a fungus transforms people into cannibalistic zombies. And while this may sound like a bizarre fabrication, this fungus may not be that far-fetched after all. Because life-threatening fungi really do exist. And they are even on the rise.

But what exactly? What exactly is a fungus and how will it develop in the coming years? We will discuss this with Auke de Jong, who is a microbiologist and researcher at the Westerdijk Institute.