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

Walking Dead Rise of the Governor: Competition Winners

Greetings Zombiology Students,

The big moment is here, time to announce the winners of the Walking Dead competition. It wasn’t easy, picking just four out of all your wonderful entries. Well some were wonderful, some were down right terrifying, the things you people would do in this event, my word!

It was somewhat disappointing that nearly every entry came down on the side of violence. In fact no one at all suggested finding a cure. At least I know good old Hershel is with me on this. Well maybe not after last week’s episode!

I realize she doesn't look like my wife anymore, but the sex is still the same

So without further ado, here they are:

‘Naturally, knee capping my partner ala Shane to buy me time would certainly be an easy/quick option. However, since it's early in the outbreak I would look for the nearest manhole cover to secure my hasty retreat!’

HW

‘If I found myself surrounded by zombies closing in during the outbreak in Atlanta, I would first pop open the trunk (boot) to the nearest vehicle(s) and grab a tire iron. It should be the most common to find hardened implement in a street setting to defend myself with and also is a handy tool. It can be used with leverage to force open padlocks or chains on locked gates, and to smash windows for access to vehicles and buildings.  I'd also grab a flashlight being another common item in a car, and essential to my initial escape plan. Lacking that, I'd use a lighter or matches.  I'm now minimally equipped with two items- tool/weapon and light source (potential for fire).

Given a downtown scenario in a large metropolitan area, I doubt I'd last long in the streets and nearby buildings would be likely to house more zombies or potentially dangerous panicked civilians. My hunch would be that at the onset of an outbreak, the least likely place to encounter zombies or other folks would be in the sewer system. If I could access a manhole cover with advance time, I'd use the tire iron for leverage and to help close the lid when descending.  The most important thing at this point would be to get my bearings straight so that I know what street direction I'm facing and to align myself as closely as possible to the direction of the assumed "safe" house. If I do encounter zombies in tunnel, the slight advantage I have is being able to defend myself without being quickly outnumbered and surrounded as I would be on the streets above.

Of course in the unlikely event that I'm outnumbered by zombies in both directions of a tunnel, I'm pretty much done for. But you can't live by giving up, so I would fight to the next manhole access and work on a plan B, by skipping across the tops of car rooftops. I'd also do this given no time to get tools or access to a sewer manhole. Zombies would likely be on the street itself, not as agile to quickly climb up a vehicle and would not be found posing across the tops of engine hoods like Tawny Kitaen in a Whitesnake video. Moving across the top of vehicles where possible would also provide better visibility and help identify an escape path.

Once safe from the immediate threat of large numbers of zombies in downtown Atlanta, I'd seek the long term needs such as food, water, medical supplies, better weapons, and transportation.’

ML

‘As it is likely to be taking place during the day (people would be less inclined to venture out in the dark), I can assume that the outbreak has attracted the attention of the emergency services, at first to secure the area, and latterly to evacuate the survivors. Knowing this would also indicate that some emergency servicemen have fallen to the horde; police officers, ambulance workers and fireman to name but a few.

With this in mind, my first instinct would be to find the nearest police squad car, always careful that there isn't any infected officers nearby, or worse; an infected prisoner inside. As with all US Police Squad cars, they come standard equipped with a Police Scanner, a GPS, and a 12 Gauge Shotgun in the trunk. Upon hatching the trunk and freeing the shotgun from its hold, I would now be armed and, whether I had to hotwire the car or was lucky enough to find the keys nearby, I would have my escape vehicle.

I guess this stuff is practical, but I was really hoping for a crispy cream 

After clearing the surrounding area of any infected, I would drive to a nearby safe spot, not the Safe House suggested. From here I'd be close enough to hold back for any survivors, but far away from the immediate danger of the Zombie Horde. Using the Police Scanner/CB Radio, I would track and locate any potential safe zone, and/or confirm just how safe the aforementioned safe house actually is. With this information, and any potential survivors I have come across/saved in the interim, I would head to a nearby store for supplies.

At the store, shotgun in hand, I would grab some emergency supplies; tinned food, bottled water, first aid kits being the primary targets. Once supplied, I would return to the car and base my next destination on my earlier investigation; NOT on the impulsive suggestions of any would be heroes now attached to my convoy. 

If I was challenged by any of my fellow survivors, I would ram the butt of my gun into the naysayer's face, breaking their nose and firmly establishing who was in charge. Now, with the survivors knowing I am calling the shots, we could retreat to my desired destination with a vehicle, weapon and supplies.’  

GR

‘I wouldn’t try to escape but rather get bitten and become one with my zombie family, embracing the zombieness for its benefits; no more concern about appearance, bills or the stress of the daily grind. Why are zombie’s always the bad guys, they are neither good nor bad, they just are.’

KB  

A brand new copy of the book is winging its way to you all now.

Don’t forget to also pick up the official Zombie Sciencebook on Amazon now. 

I really wanted a bike, but thanks anyway honey

What better gift to give a loved one this Christmas than the gift of survival.  

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.