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Health

    • Could the fungal outbreak in 'The Last of Us' happen for real?

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    Do we need to worry about a fungus that ultimately turns humans into zombies with parasitic tendrils coming out of their mouths, ready to attack?

    That’s the concept behind the world-destroying pandemic in The Last of Us, a new HBO series based on a video game that’s known for mixing the zombie apocalypse genre with heart and humanity.

    In the series, survivors struggle to endure a world where cordyceps, a type of fungi that typically infects ants or spiders, is able to jump to the human population due to climate change. Parasitic Cordyceps take over the host body by filling its cavity with spores.

    In the TV show, humans are taken over by the fungi and turned into zombie-like creatures that chase survivors in order to infect them through a bite.

    According to James Scott, a professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in biological hazards and microfungi, it may not just be the stuff of science fiction.

    “We already have a lot of diseases of humans caused by fungi. But the fortunate thing is, there are lots of fungi on the planet, millions of different kinds, and there’s really only a handful that cause serious diseases of people,” Scott told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday, explaining that a pandemic fuelled by cordyceps is actually possible.

    For the most part, he added, if a human is infected by a fungus, it’s difficult for them to transmit it to another human.

    But that could change, Scott said. “The more we uncover remnants of lost rainforest in all sorts of far-flung rainforests, there is a possibility to encounter some of these things… that could then jump into the human population,” he said.

    Watch the full interview above to learn more and about how fungal and bacterial infections differ.

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    Canada

    • Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

    • Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

    • The RCMP is seeking the dismissal of three officers who have been suspended from the Coquitlam detachment since June 2021 over allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic comments made in a group chat.

    • Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    • Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

    • The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

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    Politics

    Health

    • A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes 'indescribable' pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.

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    Entertainment

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    Business

    Lifestyle

    • When Bernard Morissette got a call from Loto-Quebec on Sept. 18 and was asked if he was sitting down, he had no idea what was coming his way.

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    Sports

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    • F1 star Max Verstappen punished over bad word

      Formula One points leader Max Verstappen was ordered to 'accomplish some work of public interest' after uttering an inappropriate word Thursday at the news conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

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    Local Spotlight

    Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

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    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

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    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

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    • On the day he spoke to one of his largest audiences to date, the leader of the BC Conservatives made an exceptionally misleading statement around a well-publicized funding model for political parties that’s been in place since 2018.

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    • Environment Canada issued a frost advisory for Calgary late Friday afternoon.

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    • Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.

    • For years, the commute to Ottawa's west end was one of the biggest complaints for attending fans. But those who live in Kanata and in the immediate LeBreton area say the move would be a big change their respective neighbourhoods.

    • Ottawa police are investigating a shooting downtown Friday afternoon.

    • Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

    • When Bernard Morissette got a call from Loto-Quebec on Sept. 18 and was asked if he was sitting down, he had no idea what was coming his way.

    • A man who asserted his right to work in French has won his case before the Tribunal, invoking the new provisions of the province's French-language law (Bill 96) to that effect.

    • Two Edmonton Police Service officers have been criminally charged in connection with an assault.

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    • The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge announced Friday it is now accepting reservations from guests for accommodations beginning Oct. 1.

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    • Halifax Regional Police warned the public of a series of high-value thefts targeting retail stores Friday.

    • Air travel is back in full swing at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

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    • Regina police are responding to a collision involving a motorcycle on Friday evening.

    • Five Regina schools were placed into lockdown or secure the building mode following a report of a weapons investigation at Miller High School on Friday.

    • Protests were held in front of Kitchener City Hall on Friday, both for and against LGBTQ2S+ inclusive education and queer rights in schools.

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    • The Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit is investigating after a 29-year-old man died in hospital.

    • A garage fire in Saskatoon’s Willows neighbourhood on Friday narrowly missed igniting an attached home, according to the fire department.

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

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    N.L.

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