Doctor Reacts to THE LAST OF US // Episode 1

[@izuela7677]

Did you notice all the times they avoided eating grains? Hinting at the source of the spread. No pancake mix, atkins diet. yucky raisin cookies, forgotten birthday cake.

[@DrHopeSickNotes]

SO clever!

[@RHLW]

Meh... could the fungus, alive on the flour, really survive being baked at 200C?

[@brigidtheirish]

@@RHLW You'd be surprised.

[@Niobesnuppa]

@@RHLW There is a fungus that's often found in rice which survives being boiled. This is why you should never eat leftover rice that hasn't been refrigerated quickly, because the fungus can grow in room temperature and make the rice highly toxic. One of my mother's colleagues almost died that way, but luckily she made it to the hospital in time.

[@chryon315]

@@RHLW probably not since zombie corpses are burnt alive, but the infection could spread while they're cooking food while the fungi were still alive (inhaling flour, eating raw cookie dough, etc)

[@Lunapome]

While germs might not have consciousness, fungi have been shown to posses short-term memory, communicate to others, and learning. This might not be consciousness but imagine what a leg up that would give it on bacteria.

[@mymythicdiary]

That idea is explored more in the second episode with the hive network

[@DrHopeSickNotes]

Sorry what?!?? Gonna have to read up on this! Thank you

[@Arezoo298195]

@@DrHopeSickNotes There have been experiments where fungi have found the fastest way out of a maze. It’s super cool but totally freaky. 😱😁 Edit: As comments point out below, I was actually mistaking one thing for another. Oops. Sorry for the accidental misinformation spreading.

[@Lunapome]

@@DrHopeSickNotes They also form some of the largest organisms on the planet (honey fungus in Malheur National Forest) and they send electrical signals similar to what you see in the human body.

[@matheussanthiago9685]

And don't forget that fungi are closely related to us humans than they are to actual bacteria

[@58thWildcards]

In the game, the overgrown body does in fact spread spores (and it's one of the major source of infection) and gas mask is needed for the player character. However, for the series they had to change that because they don't want cast member's face covered by gas mask all the time.

[@luigiff3431]

To be fair, in game, gas masks only come on in areas with heavy concentration of spores, most of the time, the characters don't wear them

[@ezioassassin2028]

The producers also said that while spores work in a video game, it is harder to believe that fungal spores would localize and don't spread. Spores in reality would be able to spread through the air where as in the game they are confined to single areas.

[@joshz2491]

@@luigiff3431 but that's just it the way spores are in real life there is no way they would stay localized they would spread so fast that it would be the extinction of humans. That's why Niel and Craig are using tendrils instead because this “ fungal network” is a lot more realistic.

[@Amaritudine]

In the game, spores seem to be concentrated in cool, dark, damp environments like cellars and basements. My head-canon is that this is their optimum growing environment, and infected who are nearing death get instinctively drawn to that kind of shelter. It'd also suggest the spores are very vulnerable to sunlight and fresh air, "helping" to justify how Joel can immediately remove his mask after leaving a spore habitat, despite presumably having thousands of spores still clinging to his clothes and hair. The TV show's decision to have spores spread via fungal tendrils helps to avoid those kinds of minor logic problems. Spreading via physical contact also lines up with some real-life fungi, too - like massospora, a 'zombie fungus' that affects cicadas and is mainly spread by mating.

[@HattaTHEZulZILLA86]

Typical Hollywood, they will fight tooth and nail to NOT cover their actors and actresses's faces, just like in Halo. They will stop at NOTHING to justify not covering up their faces. While refusing to accept that acting without a face is a REAL THING and takes MORE SKILL to pull off than NORMAL acting. Buncha NARCISSISTS...

[@CloneMalone]

I always liked that your reactions have never criticized the reality of these shows too much and focused more on the "okay but what if" part, well, outside of proper medical shows that deserve every bit of criticism that is.

[@user-vc5rp7nf8f]

i agree, was just about to comment on that too. i like that he has more of an open, forward-thinking, visionary mind, keeping anything within the realm of possibility and looking for new things that haven't been experienced. hindsight is always 20/20. obviously there are certain things that are just nonsense in a lot of shows, so they deserve criticism and skepticism. but i always hate when ppl say "oh that's never gonna happen", because a lot of ppl just lack foresight, and history has shown that. when electricity was first invented, almost everyone said it was useless because they couldn't see the potential. they also shared the same skepticism for automobiles when they first came out, and a lot of them wanted a faster horse instead. and more recently, when electric cars first launched, nobody cared or wanted one, and a lot of car companies mocked those who made them. having a "that's impossible" mentality is just a lack of vision for what the future can hold, and what's achievable.

[@Juggtacula]

There's an easter egg based on Tommy's(Joel's brother) character. He's a war veteran, so he's seen plenty of friends get shot in the gut and bleed out. Joel tried to save her because she was his daughter, but Tommy didn't even try to save her because he'd seen that wound before and knew there was nothing they could do.

[@oneofthembous7359]

How do u know this? If u don't mind me asking

[@jaihalai7674]

@@oneofthembous7359 there’s a bumper sticker on the car referring to the operation he was involved in. It’s a educated guess as well considering the games sorta fleshed his character out a bit more

[@patricksackett270]

@@jaihalai7674 operation desert storm, yeah

[@cardellkenith]

I don't think combat vets just sit around. They'll still try to save them. The proper reason would be that he has a firearm and the place is not secure, so his training would keep him standing and alert because that's the first part of any wounded situation, make the place secure.

[@bigted6351]

There is also the factor that the entire world seems to be ending. What are they gonna do, take her to a hospital? Ask for help?

[@gibberishname]

In the game spores are the major vector of transmission. You spend a lot of time wearing gas masks and collecting filters. The show changed it to the mycelium growing out of the mouth to avoid needing to CGI spores all the time, and to let the actors be more visible and emotive.

[@dillonbaker6402]

Also, just cause of the valid point that in the real world, airborne spores that stay as localized as they do in the game is pretty unrealistic. It'd get picked up by the wind and spread across the world - QZ zones and safe spots would be pretty irrelevant.

[@lavishlyvice]

You don't collect filters in the game, though? Where did you get that from?

[@Ravo92]

@@lavishlyvice Also, "a lot of time" is highly exaggerated.. In reality you wear the mask in max 5% of the whole game...

[@FiveSeVIIen]

@@lavishlyvice maybe they mistook Metro gameplay with the last of us, honest mistake

[@lavishlyvice]

​@@FiveSeVIIen Yeah, I was thinking something like that as well. It happens lol

[@lizetteolsen3218]

I learned of a theory why there was an early focus on Jakarta--it has the largest flour mill/depository in the world. The initial infected, were workers at that factory. Through export/sales, flour infected with the fungus is transported around the world. In 2003, the old lady was fed fresh-baked biscuits. Mrs Adler baked raisin cookies--Sarah did not eat b/c not her fav. Joel did not ingest carbs b/c he was on Adtkins diet. Clever, all round, I thought. The death of Sarah--just gutting.

[@jaihalai7674]

Very nice theory. I mean flour infected fungus that could survive processing would be a very big issue and I didn’t even catch some of the smaller details like the workers being in a mill. I just assumed that the transmission was mostly from the missing infected

[@lizetteolsen3218]

@@jaihalai7674 I admit, I felt like an idiot when the different points were presented to me. I was thinking 'what was I watching that I missed all that.' THAT is some real attention to plot line from the creators too. Never heard game players advance that.

[@jaihalai7674]

@@lizetteolsen3218 The attention to little details is what convinces me that developers and creative teams really care about their project. Things that most people wouldn’t pick up on but really enrich the experience for attentive people

[@dungeonguy88]

Confirmed in the 2nd episode, at the beginning when they're exploring the start of how the cordyceps pandemic began.

[@olimakiella]

Yeah this was confirmed in the second episode and if you look closely you can see the initial roles in the show who do not get infected immediately are people who avoided flour based foods. Excellent attention to details there.

[@kharnthebetrayer8251]

I will never stop loving how much more realistic pandemic shows have become. Before Covid, we saw things of zombies or diseases getting out of control, and thought. This is insane. No way so much dumb stuff would happen and lead to this. But after how Covid went. We look at the dumb stuff and go 'fair, fair. Why wouldn't some idiots go swimming in the deadly water. Just like so many had huge parties'

[@triplemoyagames4195]

Never underestimate Human stupidity

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

I used to think WWZ was sort of dated and stupid. And then Covid happened and it was pretty spot on

[@JohnWick-el9yw]

@@rosesweetcharlotte zombies dreams and visions type that on KZbin many people having dreams of the jabed turning like a lot of people

[@jay_mw]

@@rosesweetcharlotte Especially the part in WWZ about how a big pharmaceutical company created a vaccine they knew likely wouldn't work to stop the virus but said it would anyway because people who were afraid would take it and the company would make a lot of money.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

@@jay_mw But the vaccine did help with Covid

[@Benjamas-]

The science behind the show is great, yes its out there, but its on the cusp of possibility, which is what makes great fiction to me. Also liked your reaction to Sarah, everyone gets a bit emotional at that point.

[@Unknown-ek1ox]

I actually read a report that this fungus would have to skip (thus, first overcome) many many evolutionary steps to be able to befall us. We should be safe from that type of fungal infection for quite a long time - but that doesn't mean some other nasty virus, bacteria or ailment could befall us within a life time to trigger yet another pandemic. A more serious one.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Having plausibly realistic parts make the more fictitious parts more believable.

[@thomaschristopherwhite9043]

This is why this show is a winner. Where in the game you kinda just see this entire pandemic through the eyes of the protagonists and you only know as much as they do. Where in the show they can give you POVs of the situation in Indonesia and the likes of the intro here to fully flesh out the scope of this infection. It really adds so much value to the viewing experience of the people that have played the game.

[@Frostwolf_103]

I do have expectation that TV Show will expands certain parts, the only exposition that Part 1 offers comes from single newspaper having articles regarding the cordyceps epidemic that didn't seem to connect at first. The food have molded fungi needs to be recalled from stores, prices for drugs have increased 300%, homicides.

[@SohiHien]

@@Frostwolf_103 Also talking about Jakarta on the radio and the bit at the start from the 1960s. Episode 2 shows Jakarta and the start of the outbreak there. They are going to stagger backstory so that we continue to learn more about how it started and the earlier days as we learn about the current world and hopes for the future. It's best not to just info dump the history is one episode, but stagger it across the season so that we are always learning new things and can speculate inbetween.

[@unkaleidoscoped8194]

Meh, for me TLOU was never about the pandemic and the infected but about Joel abd Ellie. I found both intro scenes so far unnecessary and kinda boring (the first one especially). You really don't need to know anything about the cordyceps for the story to work. It just seems like padding

[@SohiHien]

@@unkaleidoscoped8194 I personally love it. I was always curious about what happened in those early days, how things got to how they are in the majority of the game. With a tv show they have the time to flesh that out a bit more. It also helps explain things to newcomers who would ask those sort of things if it wasn't provided.

[@meowmasterL346]

​@@unkaleidoscoped8194 highly disagree. Without context the ellie and Joel story could have literally any apocalypse (nuclear, weather based, etc) as the backdrop driver of the story/struggle, then there'd be less tension for lack of stakes being presented. Besides, the scenes of murdering hordes crashing through windows are fucking AWESOME. You'd seriously give those up?!

[@adri7352]

Cordyceps driving insects to higher ground reminds me of hydrophobia in rabies. It's terrifying how these things become so vicious. Even if they can't think! They're little fiends! To quote Dr. Hope, *"F$#&!!!"*

[@HM4Hill]

Apparently they also have a sense of time and weather as well. It's absurd how smart they

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

It's a sort of evolutionary trait that looks like intelligence

[@monkeydad47]

@@rosesweetcharlotte cruelty?

[@Userext47]

well no hydrophobia in rabies is because your pharyngeal muscles painfully spasm which makes you afraid of not just water but most liquids

[@zodayn]

Funnily enough, in the game there are "runner" type enemies which don't cause an instant game over when they attack you. And "clickers" which do. So that fits the theory that they might just be under hallucinogens. However the game does suggest it's untreatable even then.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

The Clicker also has its whole brain taken over by the fungus

[@cthomas025]

In the game the characters would actually wear gas masks to prevent infection from the spores, but they decided not to carry that over to the show because they didn't want to put the actors in gas masks for extended periods of time.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

And because in real life, the spores would just get everywhere. You wouldn't not be able to get infected.

[@atomskthepirateking2776]

@@rosesweetcharlotte in the game the spores are usually located in dark closed off buildings. That's how most people unsuspectingly get infected

[@crazybabuskaman3923]

@@atomskthepirateking2776No, the writer of the show, Craig Mazin said that the reason he didn’t go through with the spores idea from the game was because the spores would travel through air, not just stay in one area, therefore everyone would get infected, because the wind would take the spores out into the open, and so on and so forth. You can’t run away from air, so realistically everyone would get infected, so they used tendrils instead, which were a concept for the games, but decided not to go trough with it.

[@ducksauce9187]

spreading false information.. nice. the guy above me James is right.

[@somethingsfishy8477]

I think it would happened later. Ellie kinda hint on that in eps 2, when she says "I hear there is one that putting out spores" or something like that. Which Tess answer with "I hope that's not true, since I wouldn't want spores in my face". Then Ellie says she also hear there is one that like a bat, which Tess and Joel just looked at each other because she's actually just describing the clicker.

[@meisterlymanu5214]

can we have a round of applause for the young actress daughter in the first 30 mins. Ive been around 40 yrs and i havent seen a better child actor, no icky Hollywood overacting, she was straight at your jugular. Gorgeously cute, very appealing as a character from the start and just 100% fabulous. A great cameo. Loved the hair too.

[@colonelb]

Great reaction, it's always interesting to hear a doctor talk about how freaky the concept here is. No spoilers but as someone who has played the game, I HIGHLY recommend that you watch the rest of the episodes in the season (9 total) - there are a lot of medical things that come up during the course of the different parts of the story and some that have some fairly deep intriguing medical implications that would be really interesting to hear you discuss (you'll get what I'm alluding to by the end of the season). Cheers.

[@ethanlackey8048]

The season isn’t over yet? It’s only on 3 this week right?

[@colonelb]

@@ethanlackey8048 correct - episode 2 just came out this past Sunday, and 3 will come out on 1/29. However they have announced there are going to be 9 in this first season and that the first season is going to follow the complete first game, so if you've played the game you have a good idea how the last episode is going to end...

[@DeRockMedia]

as someone who beat the game years ago... i cant wait to see how they adapted it (i forgot a lot of things during the game, but cant wait to see how the ending plays out)

[@MariaMilenovasArt]

This commentary was amazing!! Could you do EP2?

[@chickennoodle6620]

Really great analysis! The premise of cordyceps infecting humans is quite interesting. It's worth noting that many of our antibiotics come from fungi such as the Penicillum mould.

[@Amaritudine]

The reference to penicillin was something I really appreciated in the 1968 TV panel show at the start of the episode. I used to wonder how the game's infected humans avoided dying of massive infections from their open wounds and rotting clothes. It makes sense that the fungal infection itself can keep other infections at bay.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

@@Amaritudine This is actually the theory for why Ellie is "immune." Her infection is actually a different strain which fights off the zombie strain.

[@apersonwhomayormaynotexist9868]

@@rosesweetcharlotte I've heard that the games seem to imply that she has a benign cordyceps tumor in her brain so it's not that her infection fights it off but that the fungus thinks that she's already infected and thus ignores her, when in reality her "infection" is completely inactive

[@turtlepope7802]

Maybe they'll explore it further, but in the game the fungus isn't controlling people through hallucinogens, and if it's doing that it is a secondary effect, maybe to induce madness, confusion, or make them more malleable. It seizes muscles to make its victims attack people, like a puppeteer. That's why they spasm and jerk violently. You can hear them crying or whispering for help sometimes, the infected are alive and conscious, they just can't control themselves.

[@g_g...]

I don't know. I think they really just die. Also when did they ever cry for help? The sounds they make are only like that to call out other infected and because they don't coordinate their noise. It's just letting out moaning noises And even if they're alive, I doubt they'd be conscious

[@arson5304]

@@g_g... you can search it up here on youtube, "the last of us crying infected" and you can even make out words

[@g_g...]

@@arson5304 I've already heard hundreds of those. They just make random noises. And obviously, if you read something similar to those noises, then your brain will autocorrect it to what you're reading.

[@g_g...]

@@arson5304 it's simply not possible. Your brain is already compromised. It might be the same brain but it doesn't matter. It's just a convoluted amount of nerves in a single place. If it gets damaged, then the original person is gone and you have something new. It's dark but it's the truth. Also, it's only some survivors that think that they're still conscious, they don't know anything about science. Consciousness isn't a part of the brain that can just sit in the background. Consciousness is literally most of the brain. If you take something out, depending on what it is, it changes the person.

[@evarchavex4800]

@@g_g... And your entire point fails because Cordyceps do NOT infect the brain. They instead infect everything else and turn you into a puppet as OP said.

[@drahunter213]

They really did an awesome job with the first episode emotionally…when I first played the last of us the game I think 90%of gamers cried in the first 30 minutes…

[@barbara832001]

The spores are a concern in the game after the host body becomes immobile. The characters keep gas masks for areas with spores. They changed it on the show.

[@somethingsfishy8477]

I think it would happened later. Ellie kinda hint on that in eps 2, when she says "I hear there is one that putting out spores" or something like that. Which Tess answer with "I hope that's not true, since I wouldn't want spores in my face". Then Ellie says she also hear there is one that like a bat, which Tess and Joel just looked at each other because she's actually just describing the clicker.

[@barbara832001]

@@somethingsfishy8477 That's describing a bloater

[@isadora6092]

@@somethingsfishy8477 that was the description of a bloater, and the spores in that case are acid. they kinda rip a part of the fungi in their bodies and throw it on the person, and its like a cloud of acid spores that melt your skin

[@Allerka]

Nice to see you're back on here, doing some videos. Edit: One game addendum. While spores aren't a factor on the show (yet, at least), they are a MAJOR issue in the game. Like, any time Joel goes into an area with a lot of spores or infected, he immediately puts on a gas mask, so he can't get infected as well.

[@eme.261]

The show won't utilize spores.

[@dungeonguy88]

@@eme.261 Indeed. Partly because you want your actors to be able to emote effectively, which is hard with gas masks. But also because...spores would actually be too effective at spreading the infection. That is the point of spores to spread widely and they do. So if such a fungus was spreading that way there would be virtually nowhere that was safe.

[@eme.261]

@@dungeonguy88 - Exactly. Even Druckmann admitted the spores are a big plot hole in the games and worked with Mazin to address the issue for the show,

[@GoldenLeafsMovies]

@@eme.261 I think it can easily be explained as "spores die off after a while in open air as the conditions are not ideal for them, compared to damp spaces."

[@mistingwolf]

Honestly those infection stage signs would be much more alarming if they started at 5-15 days. This would give the fungus time to integrate into the host, and also make it much harder to figure out who is infected, similar to how covid/flus take about two weeks to show symptoms.

[@sasuxsakuxfan]

When I took microbio in college, I was shocked at how rabies worked and the symptoms you experience that benefit the transmission for the virus. Your throat tightens up and you can see videos on youtube of people who are "hydro-phobic" due to the virus. The fact the virus mutated and evolved in such a way to prevent being drowned is crazy lol. Love learning about this stuff

[@pammclaughlin8210]

Great show…..filmed in my city, Calgary Alberta, and the skyline wasn’t really altered except they removed the Calgary Tower and replaced it with a building resembling the Empire state Bldg! Very cool to see it after watching the filming for the past almost 2 years!

[@TanyaH97]

YAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!! omg im so happy youre doing this series!! i love your breakdown and you confirming things just makes it more creepy

[@felipenavaza1475]

The directors said in a Podcast I think, that they didn’t use spores, because in the game the characters wear masks but their body is full exposed, which makes no sense, but we’re talking about a game. In this case, they preferred to avoid wearing the mask cause it’d be useless when characters enter the fungal zones

[@biggidiggy9491]

10:43 This is exactly what they try to do. The things that comes out of their mouth spreads something (maybe toxic spores) directly into the bloodstream. That is probably why they don’t grow fungus right away, and why it takes time. But their mind gets captured fast. I know it is not realistic, but it really impresses me that they thought about this! Great video, really learnt a lot. Edit: Grammar

[@TheBowman345]

Hey! Fellow junior doctor in the US! After watching this show, and particularly that opening clip, I looked into when antifungal medications started to be used. Amphotericin has been around since ~1959, but otherwise fluconazole saw use in the early 1980s and echinocandins I'm early 2000s. So in 1968 and even 2003 our antifungals with mold activity was essentially amphotericin. And both in personal experience and from what I have heard from colleagues, often patients with invasive mold infections need urgent surgery to decrease infection load because antifungals alone won't stop disease progression. Either way, have always enjoyed your videos and keep up the good work!

[@jessaminedavis1526]

Great reaction. Love the small set up at the start with the scientist. Hope you do the next episode, it's good. By the way, isn't Athlete's Foot (tinea pedis) a fungus that's contagious? Because that's what I was always told (mainly because I sadly suffer from it roughly twice a year. So, annoying when it recurs)

[@DrHopeSickNotes]

Yeh I actually talked about it but cut it out. VERY contagious but probably not gonna be a huge unless we run out of socks. Although in Covid there were cases on the face associated with increased mask use

[@kylereese4822]

@@DrHopeSickNotes You missed an important part out... in the school you see a person twitching that`s an early sign of infection later the granma does it too but more advanced infection stage.....

[@kylereese4822]

@@DrHopeSickNotes APOCALYPS WOUNDS ONLY - A major surface wound with rapid blood loss a credit card(yes people would still hold on to them for memories) would be a good seal and maybe a small hollow tube or just gauze for a controlled drip leak slowly so the abdomen cavity doesn't flood and cause organ stress failure.... plus if available duck tape or super glue around the edge of the card.... a controlled drip is better then rapid blood loss it buys you time.... oh and leave any object(knife, stick etc) in as also causing a seal....

[@Angel24Marin]

The cleverest way of explaining how the infection work to viewers that didn't read all the collectables of the game explaining how it functions.

[@makoent2231]

Awesome information and shared and responses to the shows use of a fungal pathogen. The first episode did leave a lot of fans, of the game and the series, with many questions. Though some fans were already aware of the how the disease spread(through wheat in games and show), we had more answers given in the second episode as to the nature of the Fungi. The infected hosts don't survive for longer than a few weeks to at most a month. Though there are a rare few that are 20 years old as infected. As mentioned above, the disease spread through wheat. That does explain why it seemed to have spread quickly and activated almost simultaneously around the world. The Doctor mentions that unless there's a slight shift in temperatures in the world, then the fungi won't adapt to humans. In this case, it seems like it adapted to either become active within a heat range, or, it's active when heated up as some characters in the first episode are eating cookies while th emain characters avoid wheat entirely that very day(no pancakes, no bread, no cookies). In the second episode it's further confirmed that the fungi is magically a hivemnid within the infected hosts. So while the fungi itself would be aware, it also seems to be able to transmit movements or pain to other infected as if it doesn't just have a control of the brain, but feels the nerves as well. So if it understands pain, it must be in a lot of pain daily.

[@thecaptain3594]

In ep 2 they reveal that the fungus spreads through mycelia, not spores, because if it was spores, it is implausible that anyone would survive at all.

[@Putrefax]

If you look at episode 2 we get some great exposition about the origin of the outbreak, and its links back to Jakarta, and a flour mill there. Contaminated flour products seem like a perfect vector for a worldwide pandemic, and we see in this episode no less than 4 occasions where our main characters avoid eating products with flour in them, which is probably why they weren't infected initially.

[@ummmmmmmmmmmnmmmm]

OOooooooh. So that's why the Atkins reference is important lol. I thought it was just a throw away line referencing the early 2000s pre cursor to the Keto diet

[@meowmasterL346]

And THAT'S why they focused on that damn birthday cake so much!! Thought it was just another "struggling dad is shown to be struggling by forgetting something simple from his kid" moment lol

[@jijitters]

This is such a surprise! But a pleasant one! One of my favorite games (and now shows) so I'm excited to see you dig into it.

[@bradstrife2211]

In the game version there is a lot of use pf gas masks to avoid spores, but they're not going too deep into airborne spores in the show.

[@Evil_Vegan]

Not covered; the head trauma Joel did to the Fedra personnel, and possible explanation for Ellie's immunity 🤔

[@SohiHien]

she isn't really immune. She is actually fully infected, she has the fungus in her brain and everything. But the fungus in her did not turn her, it basically just lives dormant inside her. The reason she doesn't get infected is because she already is and the fungus in her won't allow another to take it's place. They want to study her and her particular strand of fungus to hopefully find out what made it or her different. Hopefully then to make a cure based on what they find.

[@alexlamy1724]

I’d love to see you react and breakdown Jack’s doctor/medical scenes in the first season of LOST. I think it would be really interesting to see how much of it is actually medically accurate.

[@joelliepricefield3469]

This was so interesting, thank you! I totally look forward to the next episode!

[@rosesnow2013]

It made my day to see this video pop up on my KZbin homepage! love your videos 😊 interesting and entertaining as always!

[@DrHopeSickNotes]

Cheers Rose!

[@zebraloverbridget]

Ayy I've had that first fungal infection before. Which is when I learned that my immune system isn't the best to start with and that high enough stress is enough to weaken it significantly. Super weird to have to rub athlete foot cream over my entire torso twice a day. It spread very far, but there were no other impactful symptoms when I finally bothered to ask a doctor about it. I have no diagnosed immune issue though unless there's one that isn't found via blood tests and that my Internalist PCP didn't know existed. However, it was super useful to learn that two years before covid and I'd like to think that infection saved me an expensive hospital stay.

[@DrHopeSickNotes]

Hope you are fully recovered mate

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

That is pretty scary, though. What did it look like?

[@zebraloverbridget]

@@DrHopeSickNotes Once I moved to a safe apartment they started clearing up pretty quickly with the help of a lot of foot cream. Turns out a torso has a much larger surface area than your feet do lol

[@zebraloverbridget]

@@rosesweetcharlotte A bunch of red circles that started in one spot and spread to cover my entire torso back and front. I don't think it managed to get to my arms but I think a few managed to spread to my thighs. It likely would have spread to cover my whole body if I didn't go to the doctor tbh. Feel free to skip the rest as it just explains how the stress was caused. The scary part was my living condition due to negligent apartment management who refused to ban someone from the property. It was a house mates boyfriend who had harassed me (legally it was defined as stalking for that state) and I ended up having to call 911 due to him waiting while I took a shower so he could bang on my bedroom door and yell at me through it when I got out. After I explicitly told the house mate to not let him near me or I would call the police. Really glad I had talked to cops before that happened or else I don't know what I would have done. They told me to call 911 if I felt unsafe even if he wasn't trying to physically harm me yet. Private property = police can't trespass the person without the owner's permission. The guy was there EVERY night too but I couldn't have them help me if he was in the apartment and not currently harassing me. I was still scared to shower for a few months after I moved out, but thankfully I can shower and still feel safe now

[@transyuri4534]

The full infection probably means "It's too late. They'll probably start showing symptoms soon"

[@gabrielcoventry4586]

Something I find interesting about the choice of Cordyceps is that there are species of it that can suppress the innate immune system which could explain how the fungus isn't killed by fever. Although there are also species of cordyceps that apparently boost the immune response as well, I'd imagine that would make for a very boring zombie show though lol. Also the fact that it grows mycelium could explain how it's keeping these people alive, by digesting the minerals in the concrete and in the ground and perhaps providing sugars and nutrients to the hosts to keep them alive and spreading as long as possible until they die at which point the fruiting bodies sprout to then spread through spores instead, like that guy in the sewers. except the fungus was long dead there.

[@theLOSTranger234]

I am really looking forward to this series, and now that you're taking a look at the series aswell! I'm double excited to see any medical breakdown you do for the series! please keep up the awesome work, best doctor right here! also side note- a few things were different but they did a great job recreated this episode to match the game spot on! and for story: if you havent played the game yet, and DON'T want to be spoiled for the series, dont play it til AFTER you watch this series. cause they do follow the game closely! I love that! can't wait for episode 2! also more Cell at Work?

[@ethidian3444]

You should do episode 2 as well, since the intro goes to a point of origin for the fungus, and the episode explains more about how the fungus uses human hosts. Before the second episode came out, it was theorized that exported flour was the cause of the fungus getting to the United States and spreading. The granny who gets infected is eating biscuits at the beginning of the episode for example-presumably from newly stored, bought, and cooked flour that had the fungus inside of it. Everyone else who bought and used new flour the day it was stored would be the first to become infected, and it would spread through those hosts spread around large areas. It's also possible nobody would realize it's the flour, or that crucial information about the fungus doesn't become common knowledge soon enough due to incompetence on various levels. With the reaction seen around the world to COVID 19, it's easy to believe mass incompetence could aid the fungus in the early days.

[@praetorianguard2137]

I watched a video from Roanoke gaming who's got quite a bit of knowledge in this field as well and in that video it was mentioned that in a recent discovery regarding the cordyceps strain in ants. The mycelium could actually be found in the muscle tendons of the ants jaws, actively engaging them by pulling on the muscles themselves. If that is the case it would make this fungus even more scary than it already is.

[@darkelf2x1]

Rather late with this but to provide additional information of medical interest for the abdominal GSW (08:06): The physics of the 5.56mm rifle bullets used makes them more traumatic internally than say a 9mm pistol bullet or a 7.62mm rifle bullet of similar construction. The high velocity and smaller diameter of 5.56 mm (or 5.45 mm) causes the round to tear itself apart as it penetrates into soft tissue which increases the size of the wound cavity and sends fragments through out it the wound

[@btackett2]

The thing that has always scared me with the game was the fact that they actually used Cordyceps, so smart to use that as the "sickness". That was the appropriate response to the mouth tendrils LOL

[@carlosperez7646]

Brilliant video! Informative, entertaining, and fun. Thank you!

[@Iden_Elihio_1999]

Thank you Ed This was awesome 🔥🔥🔥

[@kikig6318]

With the flyer that tells how long it takes for the infection to take full effect, it's implied that once the infection reaches the brain then you're fully taken over. The closer the wound the spores from the bite are to where the brain is located, the quicker the effects take hold, hence why the face and neck are labeled to take minutes while the leg and lower body take a day or two. Is it still a little out there scientifically? Yes, but a little suspension of disbelief is needed in any kind of zombie apocalypse scenario, even ones based on an actual cause like the cordyceps fungus.

[@dovahkiin6488]

Man, I can't wait to see how he reacts to that one scene with Tess at the end of the second episode. I cringed in disgust as I watched it ngl.

[@andrewlevin7586]

Spoilers, my guy…

[@dovahkiin6488]

@@andrewlevin7586 I highly doubt he'll know what I'm talking about

[@theLOSTranger234]

if its anything like the game, yea I get what you mean, but yea... sorry but let's try to keep spoilers to a minimal at least, but yea cant wait (at time of this I havent seen episode 2 yet either but do love reading comments--

[@alliew31]

@@theLOSTranger234 Fair warning, it’s not like the game

[@theLOSTranger234]

@@alliew31 yea I just cant wait to see how much of the game it is, and what they changed, like the walking dead tv series vs the comic,

[@casey8x8]

I've watched the gameplay 3 times now (not my style of game, but story is incredible) and in the game they did have spores and would have to mask up, but due to a few logistics, they decided to change it for the show. So, you're still right about the spores because in the game if someone's mask broke or they were exposed to them, they'd be infected and immediately start coughing. Also, I'm so excited to see you doing a series about TLoU! I'll 100% be keeping up to see your thoughts on your first exposure to this great story :D

[@mrcooki3monster928]

I can’t wait for you reaction to episode two : infected :) because I always wanted a real doctor to react to the fungi infection bite and the professor reaction to nuking the city.

[@gayaxolotl3281]

You got a few things wrong. Firstly, the ant doesn’t have to eat the spores to be infected with Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, the spores just need to land on the ant then it finds a way in. Second, the incubation period of the fungi is actually closer to 24 to 48 hours depending on location of the bite/cut and a bite on the neck usually results in death and not infection. Third and finally, the characters would be at risk of getting sick because of the spores in the game, but the director opted to cut that out from the series so the characters wouldn’t have to wear gas masks, which would affect their performance and show of emotion If I got anything wrong feel free to let me know

[@Anakin_Ackerman]

I can't wait to your reaction to the intro of episode 2, I think you will like it. It wasn't in the game but adds alot to the story.

[@carlosbeltran804]

One thing to remark is that cordiceps DOESN'T atack the brain per se in ants. It atacks arround it and in the nerves all arround the body as well as the articulations. Its more terrifying when you realise that that would posibly mean that the ant could be still conscious in there as it is zombified and moved arround and killed slowly

[@amethystnat]

Glad to see your great informative videos again and your take on this series! I just watched the first episode myself. normally I dislike zombie post apocolyptic genre, but since this a modern video game classic and i heard good things about the production I watched it. now I want to play the game. anyway looking forward to more! Also, are you ever going to finish your reactions to Cells at Work season 2? It's a very short season and I'm sure you have a lot of great things to say about it

[@Orain88]

The spores were a thing in the videogame, characters wore full face respirators in indoor spore ridden areas. They did away with that idea and reinforced the idea of the infected intentionally spreading the fungus bc the show's director thought it would be less believable that anyone could survive without a respirator 24/7 since all infection would take was a random spore floating in the breeze. Bonus points if you can figure out the initial transmission vector. It is hinted at in the first episode. I didn't have to wait to long to confirm my theory, they tell you in the second episode.

[@carloselizondo7907]

The outbreak day feel Like the firsts days of covid

[@theLOSTranger234]

not enough toilet paper hoarding

[@navajoguy8102]

When I was EMS I remember a case of coccidiodomycosis caused by an infection of Coccidioides spores. Fungal infection in the lungs, out of curiosity I looked it up and it turns out its becoming more common in Arizona due to enviromental factors such as dry heat caused by global warming as well as people just digging it up with the constant construction in the valley around Phoenix. Luckily its very hard for it to spread from person to person, but it's fairly easy to get infected by it if you are very close to the source of it.

[@Psi01]

The Last of Us react train has another passenger.

[@tylerslagel5485]

Doctor hope having an appropriate reaction to the tendrils lol Also, there are no spores in the show. The tendrils do the infecting. So the grandma wasn’t using spores.

[@davidruiz2474]

Not a Zombie infection 👍 just infected, nobody has to die to turn in this series (like zombies do) they just get infected by the Cordycep fungus

[@ngasalaja2839]

Their bodies might not have died but their consciousness had already gone once the fungus took over

[@trismite]

@@ngasalaja2839 isn't there a consciousness still when the fungus takes over? at least for the beginning period? that's why there's that infected crying in the game? because they know what they're doing but can't control their body

[@alliew31]

In fact, these infected can be killed by multiple means and not just destroy the brain

[@Debrutsideno]

When the researcher at the beginning was also working with the tech and knowledge of 1968. Which is why they could say there is no vaccine or treatment.

[@ZackScroggins]

One of the major changes between the show and the game is the presence of spores. In the game, they wore masks pretty frequently because the spores were everywhere.

[@mjdaniel8710]

The fact that things they bring up in the show actually exist in nature and COULD happen, adds an extra ICK factor and makes things even scarier

[@paddy407]

hope you do the second episode too! would love to hear more of real life medical comments based on the new scenarios in the episode! amazing video!

[@davevd9944]

Intro is fairly accurate it might sound inhumane but he's correct. Viral infections can cause a lot of bs and even widespread death but eventually it will be controlled. If anything the quicker the people die the better since a violent plague quickly dies down. But his Fungus nightmare is an instant and permanent game over with no hope of stopping it.

[@JeghedderThomas]

Remarkably educational, your content just keeps getting sharper and better. This is why I subscribe.

[@jamesasimmons]

I had a severe case of aspergillosis for a very long time before I was diagnosed. Most Doctors don't figure it out so I bounced around the healthcare system for years. After I found a doctor that realized what I had it took two years of fungicides to get ride of the infect. Once I was done with treatment I was left with cirrhosis of the liver, damaged panaceas to the point of have secondary type I diabetes. The neurological damage was to the point I couldn't hold a cup of coffee. I was a mess and house bound for 5 years. It been nearly 10 years and I still have slight tremors to this day. Much better today but this type of illness is serious

[@scirrhia_kruden]

The point the doctor made in the show's intro clip about no cures existing was definitely true as of 1968 when the clip was set, at least insofar as treating potential internal fungal infections. All the antifungals I know of are hazardous when ingested, making them not very effective if the fungus can survive inside a human.

[@marekmiks5177]

Real science did a video on this. Cordyceps doesn't hijack the ants brain, but rather their body and nervous system, so they're effectively prisoners in their own body. Which sounds much scarier, especially since the fungus is able to basically perfectly steer the ant to climb up to a specific height, climb on the underside of a leaf and bite down on the veins of the leaf.

[@lightdarkequivalent7143]

A fine (hah) detail that connects this to episode two is the usage of flour (or lack of by joel and sarah)

[@j.rinker4609]

We actually read a novel where a cordyceps-like fungus caused climbing to heights in humans that was reasonably plausible. One of the victims of the French ergotism outbreak climbed to high places, though normally affected by fear of heights.

[@starleighpersonal]

Was the book called cold storage by any chance?

[@swhaw]

The whole idea that the infection works so quickly due to the hallucinogen getting to the brain, but you mentioning about the replication of the organism taking time was what made me feel it was plausible just because of the the 5-15 min infection time when bitten so close to the brain instead of having it happen instantly due to blood flow time to the brain from the neck. Like, you get bit, you get a small dose of the spores which gets to your brain almost immediately, it takes them 5-15 min to take and produce the chemical which is when you start losing control around the 15 min mark as the chemical starts flooding into your head. Most starter doses for shrooms from my understanding is between 1 and 5 grams and most types of mushrooms are around 1-2% at most psilocybin by weight so out of the 1 gram you only need 1% of that to start showing effects so it makes sense that it works so fast. Edited to also add that I forgot that the first physical manifestations of the fungi is the tendrils in the mouth which would be where the spores are produced, assuming that once enough of the brain is taken over then the tendrils sprout from the brain and burrow through the soft tissue of the roof of the mouth and sprout first to be as transmissible as possible immediately meaning the dose of spores you get wouldn't be very small as it isn't just biting and spreading a little of the pathogen through a bite, they bite and then rub the source of their spore production right into the wound and presumably entering the wound as well as they seemed to stick when the old lady pulled her head up. I'm gonna tie it to something akin to something that straight injects poison directly into your system rather than a simple infected bite, maybe the longer they are latched on the faster and more it spreads? It would explain when they "feed" and kinda twitch while staying latched on rather than straight eating them like normal zombies.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

This is honestly one thing about the show I don't care for. In the game, it takes a day or two for the infection to incubate, which makes a lot more sense.

[@swhaw]

@@rosesweetcharlotte While I get the complaint, it makes far more sense for a fungi considering how small a dose needed to make you hallucinate, how it wouldn't need the incubation period since it doesn't replicate like a virus and wouldn't be slowed by our immune system, how when you take such a small dose of psilocybin orally it takes like an hour to kick in versus injected directly in to the blood. It makes WAY more sense the way the show portrayed it, though while I miss the inclusion of airborne spores I get why they removed it but realistically the mycelium hivemind would also be included with the airborne spores just based on how mushrooms function. But even when factoring in airborne spores, it is right to the lungs and it takes less than a minute to get to the brain from the lungs based on how fast your body actually circulates blood.

[@LarryNgetich]

The boy who was reading the infection sign is actually seen later possibly suffocated with a bag on his head, and Tess declines to throw him in the mass cremation pit so Joel does it.

[@duenasricardo25]

You missed the part where the family avoids eating any bread. Like the pancakes in the morning, the biscuits from the neighbor, and the cake at night. Maybe eating contaminated bread can contribute to a faster zombie transformation and transmission.

[@georgieacero7043]

Hey! Spores are 100% a thing in the game, however they were removed from the show as it would be almost impossible to escape from spores

[@theQuietShow584]

You should've added the scientists saying, "we lose" Scene. It was truly Impactful

[@thdenwheja756]

A quick note about Cordyceps- it actually stays away from the ant's brain for as long as possible, since that's what's needed to keep it alive. What it does is sever the legs from the nervous system and move those independently to get it where it needs to go, so the doctor's speech about feeding them hallucinations is partially wrong. This can be excused, though, because a) the interview took place in the 60s, before we really understood how any of that worked, and b) that's how it works for ants. In the 50s, a shipment of grain infected with Cordyceps got shipped to a small French town, and the inhabitants reported hallucinations. There weren't any zombies, but a kid did get a little violent with a kitchen knife. I think it speaks to the writing of the show that this educated person can be wrong about something in the exact right way for the setting.

[@thsrock22]

A more general "Zombie" question, that old lady was confined to a wheelchair but then was able to sprint, jump and lunge like a super athlete. If a zombie-type disease is neurological, wouldn't it still be confined to the abilities of its host so the old lady would still only be as strong as her previous self?

[@vailingbow1068]

I think the point that the scientist or whatever that dude was is that we're so focused on 1 thing currently that we'll neglect something else and that will cause that neglected issue to develop while we're preoccupied and when we realize there's a problem it's too late. He's not saying that we should fear fungi now, he says we should fear it in the future. Or at least create solutions to the problem so when we do realize it as a problem, we have prepared before hand and are able to contain it. Btw, a little tid bit or whatever you wanna call it. So in the game, spores are airborne, but in the series, the tendrils are. So in the series, they don't need to worry about it. In the game, it's a recurring issue.

[@ThePOSM]

Great video! Funfact: Any part of fungi, from the fruiting body down to the mycelium, can reproduce into more mycelium membrain, to eventually make more fruiting bodies. A great trick if one wants to cultivate fungi for food etc, but a worrying factor if ever becomes contagious to humans. With the research I have conducted over the years in mycology, I can tell you: I do not have a damn clue to what extent this ends, i.e (how long "dead" fungi can still spread and regrow again) - also depending on what other external factors & conditions are involved & also other types of competing fungi, thrich being a common competitor. - So much we don't know lol

[@greyhoundrox]

I feel like i learned a lot in that video. I really hope you continue to cover the show as the episodes come out.

[@SohiHien]

I hope you react to every episode! There are some serious injuries to react to, first aid attempts, more about how the fungus spreads, more about how the infection continues to impact the human host over time, discussions of immunity and using immunity to help make a cure. A great series to react to all around.

[@JGburneraccount]

I'd like to point out something that might be of interest to you. The case in France where a bunch of people were infected by fungus in bread that had LSD like effects where a child began acting Violent and attacked his mother, and another man thought he was an airplane and jumped off a building.

[@pavelZhd]

5:32 Actually I was fascinated when I found out that such huge amount of especially deadly diseases come to us from bats is really because of bat's regular operating temperature is above 40C. So any virus that evolved to survive and thrive in a bat will not be deterred by human body trying to ramp up fever to slow it down. And this makes fever disproportionately harm the body rather than the virus. So even without any ability to cause major organ failures a bat-borne virus is still highly deadly because it causes the body to effectively kill itself with fever.

[@L77kaMagic817]

As a fan of zombie movies/games/shows, I will admit none of them have taken the time and/or the brain cycles to even try and explain why the undead would be able to still have motor functions and active senses, let alone why they would have a craving/need for flesh/blood. I always wished shows like Walking Dead would at least throw some random theory out instead of just leaving the audience to rely on a complete and utter total suspension of disbelief, but whatever. I still watch them. Thanks for putting some science behind this!

[@zacharyberridge7239]

Fungus man always reminded me of the other fungus guy from Annihilation. Both are truly unsettling.

[@giannifois8948]

Fun fact: in the game, when an infected body dies, the fungus doesn’t die with it. It settles in a position and releases spores, in fact, charactes in game must wear masks so as not to breathe the spores, otherwise they become infected

[@themorrigan6604]

I read an article a couple of years ago that humans are actually cooling down, as well, meaning our average core body temperature is no longer 98.6F, but more like 97.5F. So, the fungi don't have too much of a leap past 94F to get to 97.5F.

[@blondejohn525]

Dr. hope says they're wrong about not having medicine to treat fungal infections but the first anti-fungal oral medicine wasn't available until 1977. So the scientist is right at the time his interview was recorded.

[@Zombiebadger67]

It's actually not that large of a leap in logic that fungus could turn a human into an effective human killing machine. Ergot did that with grace in Salem. They didn't go around killing eachother like zombies, however, it isn't too far farfetched to think fungus could produce hallucinogens that induce similar behavior observed in other drug induced 'zombie' cases involving synthetic opioids.

[@Twilight2Dawn]

The game did make a big deal about spores but they opted out of it for the show because they thought the spores wouldn’t be contained in one area for 20 years.

[@TacComControl]

One of the coolest parts about spore infections is how space efficient they are. They never take up mush room.

[@ja5on74]

Surprised you didn’t discuss Blastomycosis. There have been ongoing issues in the Algoma Public Health area with it.

[@GamingNewsSummary]

07:04 Best reaction - thanks for the insights about everything. It was educational for me!

[@josefinelagerstrom2643]

Please react to episode 2! There they show what happened with the very first infected and how it all went out of control.

[@vincec082]

Fascinating. You got a like 👍 Hope you keep doing these for all the episodes.

[@jokersgirll]

I think the important thing to note is that as we studied the cordyceps more irl we found that it wasn't all chemicals but also the interconnected fungus in the ants body controlling it that way. It would be a twofold assault on our systems😢

[@fred1169]

The fungi watching this video: Ayoooo bro write that down, write that down