---
title: Faculty Fungus Expert Puts ‘The Last of Us’ Under the Microscope
date: 2023-02-27T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/faculty-fungus-expert-puts-the-last-of-us-under-the-microscope"
section: Articles
---
# Faculty Fungus Expert Puts ‘The Last of Us’ Under the Microscope

*February 27, 2023* — by [Chris Carroll](/author/chris-carroll)


> Show’s Mushroom Apocalypse May Not Hold Up to Scientific Scrutiny, But It’s Far From Utter Fantasy

*The anarchists s01 ka 1920 X1080 — The fungal zombie plague in the HBO hit series "The Last of Us" isn't very realistic—but that doesn't mean humanity is not at risk from fungi, a UMD entomology researcher says.*

Raymond St. Leger doesn’t just know deadly fungi—he makes them.

No, the University of Maryland Distinguished University Professor of Entomology isn’t creating the kind that results in the “clicker” and “bloater” zombies trying to infect Ellie and Joel in HBO’s Sunday-night smash “The Last of Us.” Instead, he and his research team engineered one with [scorpion and spider venom genes](https://umdrightnow.umd.edu/transgenic-fungus-rapidly-killed-malaria-mosquitoes-west-african-study) to target mosquitoes that carry diseases that kill 725,000 people yearly, the World Health Organization estimates.


*Raymond St. Leger*




**Topics:** [Arts & Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Entomology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/entomology), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources), [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)