The Walking Dead:

Scientifically Proven
Joe Thomas
UWRT 1103-030
Professor Ingram

In the modern world there is paranoia of a zombie apocalypse centered on pop-culture

(Geiser). Many scientists are now studying the possibility of a zombie apocalypse and the affects
it would have. There is much controversy on this issue and brings to light an important question;
is it scientifically possible for a zombie apocalypse to occur? The answer to this question is
buried in research but is easy to obtain. It is scientifically possible for a zombie apocalypse to
occur but one should not worry themselves about it too much.
There is no way for a dead person to come back to life, at least not yet. The type of
zombies these scientists prove to be true are still living people but they exhibit the classical
characteristics of a zombie. For example: walking slow, no inhibition control, and slowly rotting
away. These are considered the classical characteristics of a zombie as portrayed through popculture.
There are eight ways that a living person could become a zombie that have been
discovered so far. Brain parasites, neurotoxins, neurogenesis, brain disorders, nanobots (TE
Sloth), Cocaine Psychosis (All Fancy Dress), and drugs like alkaloids (Cereska), the rabies virus
(RedOrbit) are the eight methods in which this could happen.
The first theory is brain parasites that can turn a victim into a mindless slave are
definitely a way for a zombie apocalypse to come to fruition. One of the brain parasites that
exists in nature is called Toxoplasmosa Gondii. Half of all humans are infected with this parasite
and dont know it. These parasites wont cause death directly but can cause a human to lead
themselves into danger as it does in rats. The rats who become infected will be controlled by the
parasite to move towards cats and sit there helplessly. The reason behind this is that the parasite
can only breed in the intestines of a cat. The parasite will be transferred to the cats intestines
once the rat is eaten by the cat and then the parasite will be able to reproduce. This same parasite

could cause a human to lose all sense of self-preservation and wander aimlessly into danger. This
type of zombie would not be a violent horde but would only harm themselves.
The second theory is neurotoxins. They are poisons that slow down bodily functions to
the point that a person would be almost dead or would be considered dead legally. There are
drugs that can cure this ailment but they will leave the victim in a trance-like state that is similar
to that of a zombie. The victim will unlikely have any memory of the event either. The victim
will still be able to complete simple tasks like walking and possibly talking depending on the
neurotoxin. This method of zombification is not likely to make a person crave human flesh or
make them all that violent, but it will make them exhibit the slow walking and nearly
unconscious behavior. It is possible that a neurotoxin could be created by a scientist to make a
person violent towards others though.
The third theory is Neurogenesis. It is the process of the brain that creates or repairs dead
brain tissues. This is also called neuroplasticity and it is a natural bodily function. The issue
arises with using stem cells to recreate dead cells. This could allow a scientist to bring a dead
person back to life if all experiments worked out in the ideal fashion. This is the only situation
where a person could be already dead and be reanimated. It is unknown whether or not this
reanimated person would behave like a zombie or like a normal human-being.
The fourth theory is brain disorders that can cause the same symptoms as the brain
parasites. The brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can cause the classical characteristics. It
comes from humans eating meat that is infected with Mad Cow disease. It could cause the victim
to behave like cows that are infected with it. Mindlessly attacking other people and potentially
killing them is fairly close to these classical characteristics.

The fifth theory is Nanobots which are microscopic robots that are created by scientists.
They have the ability to self-replicate, destroy everything, and build anything that they want
inside of an organism. They could potentially be placed in humans or find their way into humans.
Nanobots can survive for about a month after their host dies and can control bodily functions to
give a person the appearance of still being alive minus the ability to think and speak, sort of like
a zombie. The nanobots will seek a new living host when they are close to dying and the easiest
way for the nanobots to transfer to the next host would be through a bite, sort of like a zombie.
This method would have to be started with a scientist putting nanobots into a living organism,
whether human or other animal, and be transferred to others.
The sixth theory is Cocaine Psychosis. There are at least three experts on this subject that
add this possibility of infection. They are: David Youngquist, president of Dark Continents
publishing and a writer; Kyle Bishop, obtained a PhD in American Literature with a dissertations
concerning the cultural relevance of zombie cinema; and Joe McKinney, a Sergeant with the San
Antonio Police Department and an author of horror, crime, and science fiction novels. Cocaine
Psychosis is a temporary mental condition usually caused by the using of excessive amounts of
cocaine. It causes the same trance-like state as the classical characteristics.
The seventh theory comes from Haiti where the word zombie originated. Drugs like
alkaloids will reanimate a near death person but leave them in a trance like state. These drugs
were used in practice by Haitians. This is close to the classical characteristics.
The eighth theory is that there are viruses that could make a living person behave like a
zombie. The rabies virus, for example, when passed to a human will make them sensitive to light
and water while additionally making them bite others to pass on the disease. Other symptoms
include hyper salivation, hallucinations, paralysis, and agitation. Scientists agree that rabies will

make a person practically like the 'walking dead." Other forms of zombification exist in
houseflies and bees. If houseflies can pass the disease on to other insects, it is likely that it could
be passed on to a human as well.
There is agreement that a dead person cannot come back to life but that it is possible for a
virus or other factor to affect a living human and make them behave like a zombie. A virus that
enters the nervous system through the olfactory nerve has the potential to affect the amygdala,
the center of human emotion, the frontal lobe, responsible for thinking and decision making, and
the hypothalamus, responsible for appetite. Through retrograde axonal transport (Adams), a
virus is carried down a neuron to the place that it wants to be. Therefore a virus that induces rage
and is carried by scent, would enter the olfactory nerve and the virus would be carried to areas of
the brain that when affected could cause a person to enter a trance-like state where they are
unable to control anger, appetite, and recognize that humans are not food. The virus would have
to specifically affect only these brain areas to keep from destroying the whole brain, since that
would kill the host and the virus. If the right virus founds it way into the air and one were to
inhale it, one could potentially lose control over certain areas of the brain and enter a zombie-like
state where one loses control of factors that makes oneself a normal human being.
It is actually possible for scientists to create a zombie apocalypse that would plague the
world. The frontal lobe controls morality, planning, and inhibiting impulsive actions. An
impulsive action like biting a person, to be exact. The cerebellum controls coordination. Walking
would be a difficult task. When both areas are affected the person would exhibit the Hollywood
characteristics of a zombie; slow moving and flesh craving. A prion, an infectious protein, is not
a virus or a living thing. It is almost impossible to destroy and there are no cures for the diseases
they cause. Prions brought on Mad Cow Disease which developed holes in our mind that were

compared to a shotgun blast to the head in appearance. The trick to making a zombie would be
attaching a prion to a neuron that will target the cerebellum and frontal lobe. Jay Fishman,
Director of Transplant Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital says that attaching
a prion to a virus is an unlikely scenario but would suggest using a virus that cause an
inflammation of the brains casing like Herpes or West Nile. It would be necessary to stop the
prion takeover so the zombie didnt become comatose. (Bradley)
We do not have to worry too much about the apocalypse if it were ever become a reality.
According to an interview of Dr. Mark Siegel there are some characteristics of a zombie that are
mostly Hollywood dramatizations, as one might have guessed (Fox News). He says that it is not
true that a person could become infected with a virus within seconds as they do in many zombie
movies. Dr. Siegel also disproves that the more deadly a virus the more deadly it is to the human
race. Just because a virus has high chances of fatality does not mean that it spreads very far or
fast. Along with Dr. Siegels disapproval of some pop-culture aspects of the apocalypse he
proves a couple aspects to be true. It is too late to vaccinate a person after the infection has
already been contracted except in cases like the flu. That is one area where Hollywood remains
accurate. Dr. Siegel also mentions that it is beneficial to prepare for a zombie apocalypse even if
it is unlikely to happen because some of the preparations are the same to those of natural
disasters which we should always be ready for.
The United States Military has a plan for the zombie-apocalypse as well. Yet another
reason to not worry about it. The plan is a work of fiction used to train military personnel with
how to deal with a natural disaster. The plan does really exist though and would be how the U.S.
government would handle this situation. CONOP 8888 is the name of the file on the military
database that address this situation and it also is called Counter-Zombie Dominance. CONOP

8888 was written on April 30th of 2011. One of the authors noted in the disclaimer section that
the plan was not designed as a joke. The Centers for Disease Control have also built a public
awareness campaign for emergency preparedness around zombies. The CDC has done this since
preparing for a zombie apocalypse is essentially the same as preparing for other natural disasters
in that one needs some of the same preparations. CONOP 8888 has specific plans of control for
specific types of zombies: humans affected by a virus, zombie life forms created by some form
of occult experimentation, chicken zombies, vegetarian zombies, and zombies deliberately
created by bio-engineers. The chicken zombies do actually exist at this point in time though and
if they became aggressors to the human race, the U.S. military would intervene according to
CONOP 8888. The chicken zombies occur when old hens are euthanized with carbon monoxide
and are buried but claw their way back to the surface. Though this plan was created as a training
tool, the U.S. military thought that it was likely enough to happen to devise a plan for it in a nonjoking manner. Zombies at this time do not exist and may never exist but if they do become a
problem, we have a plan for dealing with it. (Lubold)
Since there is a plan to deal with the apocalypse it is unlikely that it would ever progress
to the stage that it does in most movies and television shows. Weapons and the people who use
them, like the Military and "rednecks" would likely shoot and kill all of the zombies before there
is any real chance of danger. Most zombie movies start off with the Military forces already being
defeated since it would be too difficult for a horde of mindless creatures to take down the entire
United States Military. Also the inability of a zombie to heal from day to day damage would
cause their population to die off rapidly because the zombies would end up in harmful situations
that their bodies would not be able to recover from. The landscape of the United States of
America ranges from coastal plains to mountains. Zombies would walk off of cliffs, into rivers,

and not be able to access non-zombies hiding in inconspicuous places. Zombies also have too
many natural predators since they are not intelligent enough to fight off animals that try to kill
humans, like bears and wolves for example. Zombies also have too many natural predators since
they are not intelligent enough to fight off animals that try to kill humans, like bears and wolves
for example. Additionally the classic zombie-bite would be a terrible way to spread the virus
since the zombie would have to get close enough to a person without them killing it for it to
infect them. (Dietle)
In conclusion, there are many factors that could cause a zombie apocalypse to occur and
not all of them are included in this argument. There are certainly more factors that could cause a
zombie apocalypse to occur but were intentionally withdrawn from this argument to keep the
length of it appropriate. Even though there is a possibility of an outbreak, there is no real reason
to worry about it since there are too many reasons that the apocalypse wouldnt survive.

Works Cited
Adams, Diana. BitRebels: It Turns Out...A Real Zombie Apocalypse Is Possible After All. 2013.
Video. 1 October 2015.
All Fancy Dress. The Mary Sue: Could A Zombie Apocalypse Actually Happen? 12 October
2014. Blog. 7 October 2015.
Bradley, Ryan. Popular Science: FYI: Could Scientists Really Create A Zombie Apocalypse
Virus? 24 February 2011. Article. 18 October 2015.
Cereska, Kristi. Guardian Library Voice: Zombies Apocalypse: Top 5 Theories That It Can
Actually Happen. 13 June 2014. Article. 18 October 2015.
Dietle, David. Cracked: 7 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Outbreak Would Fail. 17 August 2012.
Article. 22 September 2015.
Fox News. Fox News Medical. 1 July 2013. Video Interview. 7 October 2015.
Geiser, Kelsey. Stanford Scholar Explains Why Zombie Fascination Is Very Much Alive. 20
February 2013. News Article. 20 October 2015.
Lubold, Gordon. The Foreign Policy Group: Exclusive, The Pentagon Has A Plan To Stop The
Zombie Apocalypse. 13 May 2014. Article. 15 October 2015.
RedOrbit. On Science: Could A Zombie Apocalypse Happen. 31 October 2013. Video . 18
October 2015.
TE Sloth, David Wong. Cracked. 29 October 2007. Article. 22 September 2015.