Zombie Apocalypse: A scientific approach to a “fictionalized” phenomenon Sara Barscheski In the past twenty years in media history, hundreds of entertainment mediums aimed at
the potential invasion of “zombies”, has caught the attention of youth and adults alike. Movies
ranging from Zombieland to The Night of the Living Dead, to even video games with the series
Resident Evil to House of the Dead all glamourize the said “zombie”. These creatures of
“fiction” are often defined by the term, “undead” where individuals seem to come back to life
with the lust for human blood and flesh. They are also characterized by sluggish movements,
little to no brain control, and if there is action, it is driven by something other than human nature.
Some of these zombies are created through viruses (Resident Evil) or parasites (Resident Evil 4).
The almost realism behind it is what drives media outlets to exploit our everlasting interest in
this phenomenon. It seems unreal, and it is rather easy to scoff these claims off as simply an
over active imagination. However, research in the sciences has seemed to show otherwise.
Using characteristics from already existing diseases in today’s world, there is a
possibility that a “zombie” apocalypse could potentially arise. Some diseases, such as
Creutzfeldt-Jakob already exploit some of these characteristics associated with zombies. Could a
few mutations have an impact in our already changing world? Toxoplasma Gondii is an already
existing parasite that has detrimental effects on the human mind and body. Current research in
the fields of reanimation, or even stem cell research could lend some credence to the existence of
these creatures. Examining these few different aspects of our scientific world, perhaps the
“Zombie” may be more real than we have ever imagined.
Sources: http://www.darksidecostumes.org/images/resident-evil-zombie.jpg and
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/feb/toxoplasma-gondii-culture-sex-ratio/toxo-200.jpg