Book Review: Each New Morn

Good day Zombiology students,

Thank you for stopping by the ZomBlog. Today I’ll be taking a break from science to review Each New Morn a post-apocalyptic thriller from L. G. Thomson. My usual caveat applies, I am a scientist, not a critic, therefore I can only share my personal thoughts of the book. I must also declare a conflict of interest, as I make a special appearance in the story! In fact the book holds a special place in my heart as the author found inspiration from some of our science in the creation of her Zombies - a most humbling honour.

Each New Morn follows survivors of a deadly prion disease named Falling Down Flu. I can hear scientists grinding their teeth, as influenza refers to a virus not a prion, but settle down, this is explained in the book. This isn’t your traditional Zombie story, in fact the word Zombie is rarely used and the disease has many unique factors that set it apart from the standard Romero model. The outbreak begins with patients falling into a sleeping state for a short period. Some wake up fine, some never wake again and others, well, they come back different.

The story begins with Chrissie, a woman alone in her home, where other members of her family haven’t woken up. Anarchy has overwhelmed the streets and she makes the decision to take a car and seek safer pastures. As is often the case, Chrissie discovers that the most dangerous element of the apocalypse is not the infected but other humans.

In the second part we are introduced to Shaw, a man who was trapped on a visit to his home village and like Chrissie, his family doesn’t awaken with him. He does have a lovely dog, Toby, for company. It is here that we have our first encounter with a ‘Zombie’. This doesn’t happen until more than 80 pages in, very unusual for a Zombie tale, however I found the story so gripping, that I hadn’t even noticed. After dispatching the first of many undead monsters, Shaw begins to assemble survivors and they struggle to survive against the conditions of the remote Highland area.

I’m cautious not to reveal too many of the exciting twists and turns in the book, spoilers I believe they are called. But I must discuss the Zombies because I really loved (and was terrified) by them. Those who awaken changed behave in some of ways we expect of a Zombie. They are aggressive, relentless and difficult to kill. In a break from the norm they do not moan – they scream. Nicknamed Screamers they roam the night wailing horribly. This is a nice nod to the banshee, a fixture of Scottish Gaelic mythology. These creatures are also vulnerable to injury in a more human way, meaning it’s not just a headshot that’ll take them down. I liked that because from a scientific perspective the lack of explanation as to how the body functions without blood flowing, or consumed food & drink being transferred to energy, is a bit confusing.

Overall the story is action packed – it covers a long journey and a long period of time. It explores areas many other Zombie stories overlook, such as the rise of feral animals, an explosion in the insect population and the realistic decay of the things we humans leave behind. The approach is different from other Zombies stories, making it a fresh and surprising read – and as an avid fan of all things Zombie this doesn’t happen to me often. It is set in Scotland, and being my home country, I liked that a lot. There’s something exciting about being able to visualize these events happening in your immediate world. My only slight confusion was why American terms were used, such as ‘gas’ and ‘store’, as the characters were not American. Perhaps this helps with international sales.

If you’d like a gripping, fresh take on the Zombie genre, packed with tension and surprises that are equally pleasant and horrible then Each New Morn is for you.       

L. G. Thomson’s Each New Morn is available on Amazon and more information can be found on the official website.

I’m going to the Edinburgh Fringe 2014 with two offerings from Zombie Science, details below;

Zombie Science: Brain of the Dead – Edinburgh Fringe 2014

30th July - 25th August (not 12th) at 7.10pm (1hr)

Tickets: £6.50 - £10.50

C Venues, Adam House, Chambers Street, EH1 1HR

Fringe Venue 34

C Venue Box Office: 0845 260 123 / www.cthefestival.com

Fringe Box Office: 0131 226 0026 / www.edfringe.com

Zombie Science: Worst Case Scenario – Edinburgh Fringe 2014

30th July - 25th August (not 12th) at 10pm (1hr)

Tickets: £6.50 - £10.50

C Venues, Adam House, Chambers Street, EH1 1HR

Fringe Venue 34

C Venue Box Office: 0845 260 123 / www.cthefestival.com

Fringe Box Office: 0131 226 0026 / www.edfringe.com

Stay safe out there,

Doctor Austin   

Doctor Austin ZITS BSz MSz DPep, is a Theoretical Zombiologist and Head of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland UK.

Hypothetical Hunger

Welcome once again Zombiology Students,

I was contacted by Albert who asked me the following;

“Say there was a zombie apocalypse and all humans were eradicated.  What would the zombies do after they have eaten all the human brains and (as far as I know) depleted their only source of nutrients?  Is there any knowledge regarding this topic?  They wouldn't just starve themselves out, would they?”

But we haven't thought about food security, not one meeting.

Before I can answer it we must first establish some points about Zombieism. Regular visitors will be aware of our Institute’s current Zombieism research and can skip this section, but for those of you not familiar with it, read on. Here at the ZITS we believe that zombie’s will most likely be caused by a new type of prion disease, similar to vCJD AKA human mad cow disease. Unlike movie zombies, sufferers will not eat only human flesh or brains, but any food source they come across. In fact there is presently nothing that can occur in a human to make them only want to eat human flesh or brains. Genuine Zombieism is highly unlikely to make a person become clinically dead, then return to life, referred to in fiction as undead. They would in reality be a human who has contracted an illness with specific symptoms. They would not live indefinitely, but wither and die as the disease progressed. How long that would take very much depends on the causal agent.  Furthermore, prion disease is very rare in humans, to date there have been less than 200 cases of vCJD, so at the moment it is very unlikely we will reach a scenario whereby there were no humans left who were not infected.

Of course there is no guarantee that Zombieism will be the result of a prion disease, it might be a new strain of virus or a previously unseen parasite. So to answer Albert’s question we can widen our net to include these biological agents. The fact that you are alive and reading this means that there has not yet been a disease that has wiped out the human race, or left only infected humans, unless such a disease occurred a very long time ago to a different species of Homo genus.   

The Homo Simponus perhaps ...?

If we look at the most deadly disease pandemics that have occurred we can try and seek a comparison. The Spanish Flu may be the deadliest pandemic in history, with somewhere between 20 – 200 million people dying because of it. Then there is the infamous bubonic plague that throughout its history has claimed the lives of some 200 million victims. Now whilst these diseases have produced a tremendous loss of life it is worth bearing in mind that the human population is presently just over seven billion. So Zombieism would have to be particularly vicious to turn us all.

But let’s think hypothetically, say Zombieism did spread to the entire population of the world, how long would the food supply last? We produce around seven billion tons of food each year. If everyone in the world has succumbed to Zombieism, it is safe to say no one will be producing any more. It is very difficult to get exact figures to work with here. It is hard to know how much food is readily accessible to the zombies. Some may be in cans they cannot open, and as a zombie isn’t exactly a gourmet chef, they’re going to be going for raw food only. Zombies may also consume each other when they get desperate.

'We've had some times zombie-ing together Bill but I can't take your moaning one minute more'.

The average person/zombie needs between 2,000 – 3,000 calories a day. In 2003, the world produced 2,809 calories per person per day, but by the end of 2006 there was only enough of a reserve to last the world 57 days. I haven’t been able to source data more recent than that, but we could assume that we’re running a careful balance these days whereby we only just keep producing enough food to get by, without having large reserves. So by the time we reached a point where there were only zombies, and no one producing more food, these zombies would run out of food in probably a matter of weeks, maybe even days.

How long the zombies will ultimately survive from there depends on how long the disease takes to kill them, assuming they don’t die of starvation, or dehydration, first. With a prion disease we estimate a person surviving three to six months after full onset. A more aggressive biological agent, like a virus, may act even quicker.

So in conclusion, the answer to the question, ‘what would the zombies do after they have depleted their only source of nutrients’ is ... they would die. However it is unlikely we’d reach a scenario where everybody was infected by Zombieism in the first place, and if we do there’s no need to worry, because you’d soon be dead.

As always, if there is anything you want to know about the real science behind zombies, do get in touch. We’ll always do our best to answer your questions, no matter how difficult or strange. You can contact the Institute at info@zombiescience.co.uk.

Best wishes,

Doctor Austin

Doctor Austin ZITS BSz MSz DPep, is a Theoretical Zombiologist and Head of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland UK.  

For even more Zombie Science pick up the official Zombie Science book on Amazon now. 

A Tale of Two Zombies

Hello Zombiology Students,

We recently received two interesting questions from you Zombiology fans and decided to share them in today’s ZomBlog.

The first is from Vicki who emailed asking ‘would it be possible for zombies to be made from a natural mutation of a dual-infection? My idea is that the fer-de-lance snake and a vampire bat causing rabies, both in Panama, could both infect someone, possibly mutate and cause a zombie apocalypse.’

The Bothrops atrox aka fer-de-lance, is a venomous snake, ‘regarded as the most dangerous snake in the Panamanian jungles, chiefly because it is the commonest of the vipers’ (Elton 1999). The snake bite releases venom which contains a substance called a haemotoxin.  In the human body this kills red blood cells, stops blood clots forming and can cause tissue damage.    

Fig 47# Fer-de-lance (with snake)

Vampire bats can refer to three species of bat whose diet consists of blood. Contrary to popular belief they do not suck blood through their teeth, but rather create a wound and lap the blood up. As with all bats they have the possibility of transmitting Rabies, however in reality only a small percentage of the population carry it.

Fig 420# The Vampire Bat (aha ha, gosh I pee'd a little there)

Now we know some basics let’s turn to our resident viral expert, Dr. Katie White for more details, ‘the damage caused by fer-de-lance snake bite isn’t caused by an infection.  Infections are caused by the presence or growth of a biological agent (e.g. bacteria, virus) within the host body.  As an infectious agent grows and multiplies within the host body, the host can then pass on the infection to other people/animals.  The snake venom is not an infectious agent, so the host won’t start producing more of the toxin and won’t have enough inside them to pass it on to anyone else. The snake bite won’t pass on any genes to the host, so there is no genetic material to mutate or combine with that of the Rabies virus.  

As it affects the brain, the Rabies virus does cause some zombie like symptoms and yes it could possibly mutate to cause a more zombie like disease.  However, the Rabies virus is only really transferred between animals and people through bites, as infected hosts produce the Rabies virus in their saliva.  A zombie would have to produce a very large amount of saliva to infect a town’s water supply at a high enough level to actually cause disease.  The Rabies virus normally enters the body through the wound caused by the bite and then it travels along the nervous system to the brain.  If it was drunk in water instead, the virus would probably be destroyed in the stomach and would have no way of actually reaching the nervous system and brain.’

We would advise that any zombies found drooling in your local dam be guided away, and of course never share a drink with a zombie.

No matter how tempting it may be...

Our ZITS colleague Dr. Kevin O’Dell, a senior lecturer in Genetics at the University of Glasgow, kindly explained more about virus mutation, ‘any virus can and does mutate. Usually this leads to a mutant virus that doesn't function at all so doesn't infect and doesn't replicate. Very occasionally a mutation makes a virus more virulent (more infective). The snake venom would only make this more likely if it actively damaged virus DNA, but as Katie says, it doesn't.

If the snake bite occurs first and causes tissue damage then you might be able to argue that a subsequent bite by a zombie bat is more likely to happen as (a) the previously damaged host may not be able to run away as fast so is an easier target and/or (b) a zombie bat may be able to actively detect a compromised host (although I’m not 100% that they have that ability).’

Dr. Kevin O'Dell, he puts the 'S' in 'Necrosis'

Of course you’d have to be having a really bad day to be both bitten by a fer-de-lance snake and a vampire bat in short succession. Or for the optimists out there, a really lucky day, as apparently you are more likely to be struck by lightning than bitten by a fer-de-lance.

So to conclude Vicki, it would seem your theory of dual-infection, whilst creative, is thankfully a long way from causing the zombie apocalypse.

Our next question came from Lydia who asked, ‘could you please answer a zombie conundrum me and some zombie enthusiast friends are having over the Walking Dead TV series. In Season One we see the policeman dude and his new pals in the city covering themselves with blood and guts so that the walkers wouldn't sniff them out. And yet, one of my eagle eyed friends noticed they didn't do that when hiding under the cars from the zombie swarm in Season Two - the zombies never got so much as a whiff of them. And yet the redneck dude covered up the other dude who cut his arm in dead bodies so that the walkers wouldn't smell his blood. So what's that all about? Is this a TV continuity error? And could zombies really smell us living folk? Do they smell us if we are cut; like sharks can 'smell' blood? What's going on?’

 I feel I should start by pointing out that the Walking Dead zombie disease is very different from the condition we investigate in our research. Certain aspects, like being ‘undead’ are not possible at present, and having continual decomposition of skin and organs, would be a lot different than they portray. Regular visitors will know that I love the Walking Dead in its many formats but at the end of the day it is fictional, and so shouldn’t be criticised for its scientific inaccuracies.

My ex-wife used to say this all the time

However your smell question is still a good one, and I will endeavour to give you an answer all the same.

Those who have attended my lectures or read my book will know I believe a new type of prion disease, similar to Mad Cow Disease (vCJD), may be responsible for delivering Zombieism in the future. This type of disease occurs when our natural prion protein (PrP) is forced to change shape by a Rogue form, possibly by ingesting the Rogue through an infected food source, as occurred with cow meat and vCJD (note; this is not the only way to get a Prion disease). Scientists are still unclear as to what function the normal PrP has in our bodies. Many studies to determine an answer have involved mice who had this PrP gene removed or ‘knocked out’. Recent work has shown that mice without the gene perform badly in smell tests, failing to find hidden cookies, amongst other things. Therefore it is likely a Prion diseased zombie would have a poor sense of smell.

If we took the Walking Dead zombies as being real (ignoring the obvious inaccuracies) I would say that they would also have a poor sense of smell and restricted sight. If their bodies are decomposing their eyes would too, getting worse over time. The same would apply to their sense of smell. This means that in Season One using camouflage should work, depending on how long the zombies around them have been decomposing. Any recently turned zombie would have better senses compared with a longer term sufferer. In Season Two, what might be happening is an example of the disease giving rise to low zombie intelligence. Some of them may smell blood or humans, but are not smart enough to think to look beneath a car to find one.  

     

With regard to sharks, they smell around 10,000 times better than humans. A zombie, due to being gradually reduced in operating capacity by the disease, is definitely going to have a worse sense of smell than you or I, or a shark.

But if it's a zombie shark... oh dear

Double oh dear if it's a zombie land shark (although I don't know if I believe Google Images on this one...)

Finally, on the question of TV continuity, it is worth noting that Frank Darabont was the showrunner during Season One, and was replaced by Glen Mazzara for Season Two. You can read various reasons for this online, and I daren’t wade into the debate.

   

Ultimately I think we should all take something from Ron Moore’s First Law when creating the show Battlestar Galactica. When describing questions people asked about the real science of its content he advised taking the mantra, ‘it’s just a show, I should really just relax’. 

We do hope you are both satisfied with your answers. If you want to know anything further, or someone else has a question, do get in touch on info@zombiescience.co.uk.

Very best wishes,

Doctor Austin

Doctor Austin ZITS BSz MSz DPep, is a Theoretical Zombiologist and Head of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland UK.  

For even more Zombie Science pick up the official Zombie Science book on Amazon now. 

Bibliography 

Elton, N. (1999, September 27). The Venomous Snakes of Panama from http://www.czbrats.com/Facts/snakes.htm

Can Zombies Love?

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening (delete as applicable) Zombiology Students,

This was the most non-explicit image I could find, and I don't recommend typing 'zombie love' into Google Images.

Today's blog is based on a question from John Burns. He asks, 'can zombies fall in love?' I take this to mean with each other, rather than with him, or at least that's what I hope.

This is by no means an easy question. Scientists have been trying for decades to unlock the mysteries of love and, with the exception of Doctor Rohynpnol (whose work is better left unmentioned), they haven't had much luck.

Excluding my ex-wife, the human brain is the most complex thing currently known of in our universe.

Doctor Austin with his ex-wife Mrs Doctor Austin

Many people say it functions like a powerful computer, but even this isn't an accurate comparison, because we can't yet build a computer that works like our brains.

Similarly it is hard to say that one part of the brain is responsible for just one function. Movement for example is controlled and regulated by many different parts of the brain, not just one.

Recent studies of people going through different types of love seems to bear this out as well.

'Brain regions with decidedly unromantic names, like the dorsolateral middle frontal gyrus and the anterior cingulate, as well chemicals like nerve growth factor, dopamine and oxytocin, are all involved in orchestrating these feelings of love.' (Dobson, 2010)

The human brain in love, or playing Call of Duty, I get diagrams easily confused

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter I've nicknamed 'Brain Crack', is thought to be prime player in love. Known for producing a variety of positive feelings dopamine has shown some interesting qualities during animal tests.  

'When a female prairie vole was paired with a male, dopamine levels went up 50 per cent. Levels of oxytocin, (the so-called "cuddle hormone", released in response to stimuli including skin-to-skin contact) likewise go up, as do levels of vasopressin, both promoting relationship bonding. When the female vole was injected with a drug that blocks the activity of dopamine, she lost interest in him.' (Dobson, 2010)

Now we know a little more about what love is doing in the brain, let's apply it to our zombies. Here at the Institute we think zombies will most likely be caused by a new type of prion disease, similar to human mad cow disease (vCJD). All prion diseases cause a unique form of 'spongiform' damage to the brain giving it the appearance of a sponge, or block of Swiss cheese. We also predict that Zombieism prion disease will cause a loss of memory and human personality, giving zombies their trademark absentminded attitude and vacant persona.

Spongiformity in the brain, looks like an Aero, but my gosh it doesn't taste like one.

If we combine these assertions together it doesn't paint a very promising picture for zombies falling in love with each other. Ultimately they won't remember what love is nor have the capacity to make it.

So the answer to John's question, 'can zombies fall in love' is no. No they cannot.

The android Data, from Star Trek, also cannot love. Well except in that one episode, but I never saw it.

Rather than leave on a negative I'll instead share with you some more hopeful lyric's from the Zombie Institute's resident songwriter, Aaron Stoquert:

''cause I don't care, I don't care what you look like tonight
I don't care, I don't care, what you feel like tonight
I don't care, I don't care if we're alive tonight
can you stay here throughout the night--be right next to me?' - (Stoquert, 2011)    

Do check out all of Aaron's songs about zombies and the feelings they might have.

Thanks again for your question John, and everyone else keep yours coming in to: info@zombiescience.co.uk  

Best wishes,

Doctor Austin

Doctor Austin ZITS BSz MSz DPep, is a Theoretical Zombiologist and Head of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland UK.

Get your copy of Doctor Austin’s Zombie Science 1Z textbook on Amazon now

See the Zombie Science 1Z lecture live at:

Manchester Science Festival 2011

Tuesday 25th October 2011

International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Engine House, 3 Cambridge St, Manchester, M1 5BY

Times: 11:00, 14:00, 16:00 (11/2/4pm)

Price: Free (must be booked in advance) Ages 13+

Booking Link: http://msf11zombie.eventbrite.com/

Blackwell's Bookshop Oxford

Wednesday 26th October 2011

Info: Doctor Austin will be delivering a public lecture before signing copies of his book alongside Zombie Handbook UK author Sean T Page.

Blackwells Bookshop, Broad St, Oxford, England, OX1 3BQ

Times: 1900 (7pm) Ages 13+

Price: £2 - Click here for booking information

British & European Society for Gene Therapy Conference - Public Engagement Day

Thursday 27th October 2011

Info: Doctor Austin delivers an all new Zombie Science 1G: Gene Therapy lecture on genetics and gene therapy.

The Brighton Centre, Brighton, England

Times: 1300 (1pm)

Price: Free (Just turn up) Ages 13+

Dundee Science Festival 2011

Saturday 29th October 2011

Venue: 13+ Show: Dalhousie Building,          

             University of Dundee, DD1 4HN

             18+ Show: Dundee University              

             Students Union, Carnegie Suite,

             Airlie Place, DD1 4HP

Times: 13+ Show: 1400 (2pm)

            18+ Show: 1900 (7pm)

Price: Free (must be booked in advance)

Click here for the official Festival website & Click here for the Official Site or call (01382) 38 44 13

London Horror Festival 2011

Tuesday 15^th November – Thursday 17^th November 1930 (7.30pm)

The Courtyard Studio, Bowling Green Walk, 40 Pitfield Street, London, N1 6EU

£12/10

Book online at: http://www.thecourtyard.org.uk/whatson/212/zombie-science-1z   

Booking line:  +44 (0) 844 477 1000

Bibliography:

Anon. (2011) Dopamine, Psychology Today, http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/dopamine accessed on 02/10/2011

Dobson, Roger. (2010) Love on the Brain, Independent on Sunday, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/love-on-the-brain-2096672.html accessed on 02/10/2011

Fischetti, Mark. (2011) Your Brain in Love, Scientific American, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=your-brain-in-love-graphsci accessed on 02/10/2011

Fisher, Helen. (2004) Biology: Your Brain in Love, Time Magazine, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993160-1,00.html accessed on 02/10/2011

Ortigue, Stephanie, et al. (2010) Neuroimaging of Love: fMRI Meta-Analysis Evidence toward New Perspectives in Sexual Medicine, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 7, Issue 11, p.3541 - 3552, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01999.x/abstract

Stoquert, Aaron. (2011) I'll See You Again, Run for your Life EP, FiveOhfour Entertainment,  [Music Recording]

Zombie Bludgeoning & You

Fit’ like Zombiology students,

Doc A lecturing on prion disease

I had the pleasure of delivering my Zombie Science lecture as part of the Wrexham Science Festival in Wales. Afterwards I was asked a most intriguing question by one of my students, Ms Flora Cat:

“What would I need to use to effectively clean up potentially (prion disease) infected material? I can double glove, but I don’t think I have a strong enough cleaner.”

Regular students will know that we believe zombies will be caused by a prion disease, similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). But what you might not know is that these prion diseases, as well as being hard to treat, are even harder to clean up.  CJD is a good example for us to use here because it comes in many forms. You will most likely have heard of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), often called human mad cow disease, the kind believed to have been caused by people eating meat infected with mad cow disease. 

Another type is Iatrogenic CJD (iCJD). This is caused by healthcare-associated transmission, (i.e. patients for whom contaminated medical equipment was used or who received contaminated transplants.) Only two cases of this have ever been proven (but more cases are suspected). They involved electrodes that had been placed in a CJD patient’s brain. Once used for this they were properly sterilized and used again, only to transmit the CJD to new patients. After this was suspected to be happening the same electrodes were placed in a chimpanzee’s brain. The chimp also caught CJD and the link was proven.

It is important to note that only certain parts of the body seem to transmit CJD. Areas like the brain, spinal cord and eye have the highest infectious risk. Areas including saliva and bone marrow carry no infectious risk at all. Furthermore some people have contracted iCJD through blood transfusions from infected donors. Never accept donated blood from a zombie, not even if he offers you a biscuit.

I picked the wrong day to wear 3D glasses...

So if CJD and other prion diseases have a resistance to standard cleaning procedures what options are available to help those working in healthcare to fully disinfect their equipment?

Well, prions and prion diseases are notoriously mysterious and unusual in the science world. Methods to disinfect and sterilize them over the past few years have been controversial and cautious. What is clear is that many traditional methods are ineffective for sterilization. Methods like boiling, using dry heat or UV light for example.

But it isn’t doom and gloom because some methods, under certain circumstances, do work. A standard way to sterilize equipment is using a device called an autoclave. An autoclave is like a medical dishwasher that uses high pressure saturated steam to clean objects. Used on certain settings it can inactivate infectious prions to a safe level.

An autoclave - great for sterilizing things & getting the brown out of trousers

However the same process could be found to be ineffective due to differing prion concentrations, exposure time, temperature or a multitude of other factors.

But this applies mainly to those of us working medically with prion infected zombies. What about our Flora’s question? If you’ve just bludgeoned a zombie’s skull in and spread infectious brains all over the shop, what should you do?

Well here at the Zombie Institute we recommend a policy of avoidance in regard to those infected. Further to that we discourage violence, it should only be used as a last resort and only if you are in mortal danger. But let’s say theoretically that isn’t possible, zombies are surrounding you, threatening to bite your family, and the only solution is skull smashing. Here is the ZITS Guide to Safe Practice:

What are you moaning for? I'm the one who has to walk home alone.

• Pick an out of the way, secure location to beat up your zombie. This should be somewhere that is only used for zombie slaying (e.g. not in your bedroom). That way you can ensure the infectious stuff stays there.
• Gloves (doubling optional) should be worn for handling blood and body fluids. If you anticipate your zombie being a squirter add in some gowns, masks and protective eyewear. Don’t forget to keep this kit in your location and always leave it there. No popping it on for parties when you can’t be bothered creating a Halloween costume.
• Select a suitable tool (e.g. giant mallet) for the bludgeoning procedure, use it only for prion zombie beatings, and keep it in your selected location. This avoids cross contamination. (I.e. forking a zombie to death then using the same fork to eat a pot noodle = very bad) Ideally you really only want to use a weapon once then have it destroyed. This might not be possible with available resources, but try and be creative. The computer game Dead Rising provides plenty of inspiration. (E.g. bat + nails = bat with nails, jewels + torch = lightsaber...ok they don’t all work...)
• To decontaminate surfaces and instruments as well as safely dispose of waste please check out the unexcitedly named but very informative ‘Biosafety Practices for Handling Prions and Prion-Infected Tissues’ paper. (Link in the references)

Dead Rising 2 gives the Laws of Thermodynamics a badly scalded finger

So in conclusion, there are many ways in which you can attempt to clean up prion zombie infected mess. However much of the equipment, chemicals and practical skills are not likely to be in great supply or easily accessible if a zombie outbreak occurs, therefore the best solution is careful avoidance. If unfortunately you are forced to kill a zombie try and use a non-splattering style. Remember unlike fictional zombies real zombies do have to breathe so put down that pick axe and pick a pillow, you’ll quickly find yourself smothering your way to safety.

I ain't paying for a home Mum...ahem...I mean take that Zombie.

Thanks to Flora for her question and remember keep your Zombie Science queries coming our way because in the fight against zombies the greatest weapon is knowledge, and crossbows, but mainly knowledge.

Best wishes,

Doc A

Doctor Austin ZITS BSz MSz DPep is head of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies and Zombiologist Royal to Her Majesty the Queen

See the Zombie Science 1Z Lecture –

Newcastle City Library:

Saturday 21^st & Sunday 22^nd August 2011

33 New Bridge Street West, Newcastle, England NE1 8AX

Lecture Times: Sat - 1400 & 1600 (2 & 4pm) Sun – 1200 & 1500 (12 & 3pm)

Tickets: Free – must be reserved in advance call 0191 277 4100

Suitable for ages 13+

References:

Rutala W: Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization of Prion-Contaminated Medical Instruments, 2010 Feb, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (http://www.unc.edu/depts/spice/dis/ICHE-2010-Feb-p107.pdf)

Michigan State University: Recommended Biosafety Practices for Handling Prions and Prion-Infected Tissues, May 2007, Biosafety in Research (http://www.biosafety.msu.edu/current_topic/Prions/working_with_prions.pdf)

CJD Support Network: Iatrogenic CJD Information Sheet 3, Jan 2008