The Creepy, Real Science Behind 'The Last of Us'

During the creation of Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog Creative Director Neil Druckmann watched Planet Earth, the nature documentary series. What was originally just entertainment generated the next idea for Naughty Dog's blockbuster title The Last of Us.

In one particular Planet Earth clip, a cordyceps — a parasitic fungus — latches onto ants, infecting them and taking control of their brains. The ants lose control of their bodies and go off somewhere to die. Their bodies become hosts to a massive fungal sprout that shoots out of their heads — once the cordyceps reaches maturity, it sends off spores to infect other creatures nearby. Read more...