Friday, May 20, 2011

Weird Zombie Science

Have you seen this yet? The CDC, in an effort to get people to think about emergency preparedness, put out some guidelines on how to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Genius.

I don't think it's a big secret that I'm a bit of a science geek. My first two books are as scientifically accurate as they can be considering that they deal with zombies and werewolves, respectively. But I think the paranormal can be a really interesting way to look at everyday science. For example...
  • Epidemiologists study how diseases spread through a population and attempt to identify new disease outbreaks early, before they spread too far to be easily contained. Check out this paper that attempts to calculate the mathematical spread of a zombie infection--published in a bonafide science journal.
  • And zombification might not be quite as ridiculous as you think--there's a type of fungi first reported this March that turns ants into ZOMBIE ANTS. I particularly enjoy how the scientist in this story says there could be thousands of zombie fungi out there. LET'S GO LOOK FOR THEM! GET THE CHAINSAWS!
  • And that's on top of the already known Toxoplasmosa gondii, which reproduces in cat intestines. So when it gets into a rat, it makes the rat run TOWARD the cat and get eaten, just so it can reproduce. This blog has a great description of exactly what happens.

Am I the only person who finds this stuff ridiculously interesting?

12 comments:

Lacey J Edwards said...

I told my husband about the CDC announcement and he said "What does that tell you?" I stared, like how do I answer this? And he surprised me by saying, "It means zombies are probably real."

He was dead serious. I love him.

Lacey J Edwards said...

Also, OMG that stuff is insane! Thanks for sharing! Poor rats.

Noelle said...

I don't like zombie games or movies, because I feel there's too much of a real possibility there. But when I read the CDC article yesterday and told my sister about it, her response? "well I've seen Zombieland about 8 times, so I think I'm pretty well prepared for the Zombie Appocolypse." We came to the conclusion that "The Rapture" is supposed to happen tomorrow, May 21, and the Zombies will come on Sunday.

Tere Kirkland said...

LOL, I love that the CDC is getting a little creative with their preparedness warnings. My husband and I always joke that we're ready for the zombie apocalypse because we don't want to say h-cane season. Bad gris-gris. ;)

Anita Saxena said...

No, you're not the only one that finds this stuff interesting. I am so going to have read that link about the zombie ants!

Marsha Sigman said...

I think whoever in the CDC that came up with that is a genius. The rest of it is gross and completely facinating at the same time. Sort of like Lady GaGa.

Do you think it would be mean to tell my kids that zombies are real and post those guidelines? Hmmmm

Anonymous said...

Nope, you're not the only one who find that stuff interesting... I think it's hilarious that there are actually science journals that write about zombification! LOL

Suzanne said...

Believe it or not, I had already read through that CDC article and gathered my apocalypse gear.

And I just read through that paper on the projected spread of zombie infection... which reminded me of the movie The Serpent and the Rainbow. Have you seen this movie? It's a very fictional movie but based on the real effects of the neurotoxin used in Haitian voodoo to zombify people. Scary. As. All. Getout. (or at least it was when I saw it 15 years ago.)

Suzanne said...

Make that 20 years ago. Jeez, I'm old.

A Canadian Girl said...

Fascinating post! I love learning interesting stuff like this.

Carrie Harris said...

LJ: I'm sure he's not the only person who thought that exact same thing! :)

Noelle: And does she follow the Zombieland rules? My laptop has a Zombieland background that says, "Time to nut up or shut up." SNARF.

Tere: I know what you mean! Apparently, it's working too because the whole thing went viral. I think that's super smart.

Anita: I probably should have told you not to eat while reading about the zombie ants. ;)

Marsha: Now I have this mental picture of zombie ants in meat dresses being carried around in giant eggs. BAHAHAHAHAHA!

Taylor: That's the thing that gets me too--you can find this stuff all over the net, but the fact that it's the CDC makes it extra awesome.

Suzanne: I also highly recommend the Zombie Survival Guide collectable cards. ;) Oh, and yes, I have seen that movie. It scared the BLEEP out of me. I prefer my zombies to be campy.

Canadian girl: So glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous said...

Definitely, Carrie - I agree! :)