Alexis Bautista Dec.

3, 2013 U of U writing

The dictionary defines a Zombie as: Zombie: - A corpse said to be revived by witchcraft, esp. in certain African and Caribbean religions. synonyms: living dead, undead, walking dead, soulless corpse informal - A person who is or appears lifeless, apathetic, or completely unresponsive to their surroundings. - A computer controlled by another person without the owner's knowledge and used for sending spam or other illegal or illicit activities. (Google dictionary) There is a great fascination with zombies in the media but there are many believers of zombies and to them arent fictional. There are many reasons on why zombies could exist. There are instances in nature in which animals have zombie like behavior; And even humans in Haiti have been documented to act like zombies. Even government agencies have released statements about a zombie outbreak. (CDC) The most popular book, The Bible, has even mentioned zombies as a reality instead of fiction. Zombies are starting to become more of a possibility, then thought in the past because of new scientific discoveries. If animals can turn into zombies, why cant we? There are many types of zombie animals such as ants, bees, birds, caterpillars, crabs, crickets, fish, ladybugs, spiders, rats, etc. (NBC News) Most of these are spread through natural bacteria and fungi that are taking over their brains causing them to turn into animals zombies. There is this parasite called Toxoplasma gondii which causes the rats brain regions that govern fear were paralysed (Daily Mail) And this parasite ...turns rats into zombies and manipulates them into losing their fear of cats

(Daily Mail) Its also responsible for the rats ... brain activity had been changed. Infected humans have exhibited behavioral changes like slower reaction times and reckless behavior, and the parasite has also been linked to schizophrenia. (MNN) Another example is the zombie bee: A parasitic fly known as Apocephalus borealis can inject its eggs into a honeybee's abdomen, where the fly larvae mature. The parasitized bees abandon their hives and walk in circles but eventually they fall over. "It really painted a picture of something like a zombie," says San Francisco State University's Andrew Core. About seven days after infection, the mature larvae burst out from the dead bees' bodies, renewing the gruesome circle of life (Boyle. 2013) This shows evidence of how easily it is for animals to be zombified by bacterias and other elements that even we are exposed to in our everyday lives. Hearing about these case studies makes it seem so much more possible that zombies could take over the human population.

In Haiti these rituals are commonplace: Vodou is the dominant religion. (Nat Geo. 2013) Haiti is known for their black magic and bringing the dead back to life. There have been many cases of zombie like behavior in Haiti. Many of the ways its been done is through special potion including venom of a pufferfish, human bone (usually infants or skull of adult) , toad skin, and many other unrevealed sacred ingredients. (VICE) Clairvius Narcisse is a victim of zombification On April 30, 1962, Narcisse, then aged about 40, had presented at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti. He was spitting blood and was running a fever. Three days later, he died. The day after that, he was buried under a heavy concrete slab. Eighteen years later, Narcisse approached his sister, Angelina, in a market. She was none too pleased to see him. Narcisses brother had put a voodoo contract on him over a land dispute. Hed had him zombified. (The Punch) There has been many other cases of Vodou bring the dead back to life. (VICE) This surprising story has opened the minds of many people around the world to new thoughts and theories of the possibility of zombies.

The spread of diseases from animal to man is very possible, it has happened before many times in history, a big one was Mad Cow Disease but when spread to humans its called creutzfeldt-jakob disease CJD. The symptoms for CJD: Blurred vision (sometimes), Changes in gait (walking), Confusion, disorientation, Dementia that occurs over a few weeks or months, Hallucinations, Lack of coordination (for example, stumbling and falling), Muscle stiffness, Muscle twitching, Myoclonic jerks or seizures, Nervous, jumpy feelings, Personality changes, Sleepiness, Speech impairment (MedlinePlus.) This helps support a specific type of zombie called the Rage zombie. This zombie is like a rabid human that is enraged to the point of attacking and devouring anything that lives. The virus from this type of zombie coincidentally is called the Rage virus. There is also serious drug called Bath Salts, that links to the rage zombie. There have been many cases in particular that Bath salts have been connected to a rage of violent incidents (ABC News. 2012) bath salt users are starting to show closer characteristics of a Rage zombie like behaviors. In Miami Florida , a homeless man, Randy Eugene was found eating the face of another homeless man. (ABC News 2012) This is a documented case of someone having zombie like characteristics.

There are many people that believe in The Bible. This book that so many people believe is true supports zombies as factual. In the verse Isaiah 26:19-20 But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. and in this verse it simply states about the apocalypse and the dead coming back to life. The Bible support on zombies, makes the idea of zombies easier to believe for those who are religious.

A new invention of Nanobots, or also known as Cyborg tissue, was created by research teams at Harvard and MIT. These nanobots are nano-sized electrical wire scaffolds that can be

placed inside living tissue. (Sapire. 2012) This invention is making it possible to replace all the damaged tissue which is controlling the neural connections in our brain. However, as much as this sounds amazing this can also have so many downfalls. This is still an evolving experiment and scientist need to be careful because the risks that are involved in this experiment are crucial. These nanobots are dangerous because the device continues to work even after the bacteria dies. (Christensen. Cellborg) The reason that it can be such a problem because not only does it continue to live after we die but it can form their own neural pathways (Wong. 2007) This means that these Nanobots could have control over our brain which controls the rest of our limbs. These types of inventions obviously interact with humans and is a way of scientist improving our medical technology so if our future includes us getting involved with Nanobots it can be a way of entering into a zombie apocalypse.

In this paper The Bible, new scientific discoveries, and nature all have been examples of zombie like behavior. All these things support the possibilities of zombies, in the end they all conclude in the dictionary definition of zombie. This type of evidence makes the possibility of zombies more believable to the public. Zombies are starting to become more of a possibility, then thought in the past.

Citations "5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen." Cracked.com.

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<http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/10/26/cyborg-tissue-wird/>. "Nzambi - Part 6." VICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.vice.com/hamiltons-pharmacopeia/nzambi-episode-6>. Smith, Graham. "Zombie Rats: Parasite Lures Rodents to Their Death by Making Them Sexually Attracted to the Smell of Cats." Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2028805/Zombie-rats-Parasite-leadsrodents-death-making-sexually-attracted-smell-cats.html>. "Zombies." MNN. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. <http://www.mnn.com/earthmatters/wilderness-resources/photos/11-ways-the-world-as-we-know-it-couldend/zombies>. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0707_040707_tvtaboovoodoo.html>.