January 8, 2020
When most people think of the zombie apocalypse, they think of the Hollywood Creature Features that show dead people clawing their way out of their graves, coated in the coagulated blood and ripped out innards of their own bodies. The thought of these undead monsters feasting on the living is laughable for most people, and technically impossible. However, what they don't think about is the fact that zombies are not limited to this idea. Zombification is defined as "a person [or animal] who appears lifeless, apathetic, or completely unresponsive to their surroundings" (Google Dictionary). Through diseases, species of fungi, and parasites, true zombies reveal themselves everywhere in nature. The question that needs to be addressed, though, is not whether or not zombies exist, but what would it take to cause an epidemic?
In the media, most turn automatically to a mystery virus that causes an apocalypse. Whether it is a fictional virus or a variant of real-life diseases, most "zombies" are purely fictional. However, zombie diseases do exist. In the United States, Canada, Norway, Great Britain, and other nations, reports of Prion-based diseases have left animals and humans with zombie-like symptoms, one of them (Chronic Wasting Disease) even being referred to as the "Zombie Deer Disease." Prions, which cause the diseases, are natural proteins produced in the bodies of all living organisms.
Sometimes, regular prions are produced with a defect, a fold. These defective prions cause other prions around it to also fold in on themselves, and as the prions fold, symptoms begin to become noticeable in their host. In Mad Cow Disease, Chronic Wasting Disease, and Scrapie, symptoms can include, but are not limited to: Stumbling/lack of coordination, drooling, lowering of the head, grinding of the teeth, dramatic weight loss, tremors, and changes in social behavior. Some may also become aggressive, but not all. These symptoms are caused as the disease begins to bore holes into the brain and spinal cord of the victim, leaving these vital body parts appearing like a sponge, earning the scientific name Spongiform Encephalopathy, which is the group of diseases collectively.
So far, only Variant Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) has spread to humans, known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob's Disease. No cases of Scrapie have been reported in humans, and as of 2019, no cases of CWD have spread to humans, however, according to the CDC journal Susceptibility of Human Prion Protein to Conversion by Chronic Wasting Disease Prions experiments have proven that the proteins can convert to human prions, as well as successfully infecting primates.
Dr. Steven Schlozman, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School, theorizes that if prions linked with Spongiform Encephalopathy were to be combined with a highly contagious virus like the Influenza Virus, the downfall of humanity would be rapid.
Disease isn't the only way to become a zombie. Studies have revealed the startling zombification methods of the Cordyceps genus, a species of fungus that affects small organisms, most commonly ants and spiders. Studies in the behavior changes in ants due to the fungus have found that the fungus controls the ant's nervous system, forcing the ant's body to leave its colony and make its way to a leaf, branch, or someplace to settle in the foliage on the forest floor (It depends on which fungus it actually is). Then, the ant grips onto the nearest thing with teeth and limbs, and finally dies. The fungus then devours the insides of the ant, leaving only the exoskeleton, where the fungus will protrude from to release its spores, and start the cycle over again.
In addition to fungi, there is also the looming threat of parasites. Parasites causing zombie-like effects are everywhere, mostly in insects. A fantastic example of what parasites can do comes in the parasitic wasp species Glyptapanteles. This group of wasps specifically zombifies caterpillars of the Lepidoptera family, laying their eggs inside the caterpillar's body. As the larvae grow, they feed on certain parts of the caterpillar's body, keeping the animal alive as they feed. Then, as the larvae mature, they bore out of the caterpillar's body, still ensuring that the caterpillar stays alive. The larvae then cocoon, and studies have discovered that the caterpillar will then become aggressive, warding off any potential predators to the cocoons.
This is not the only case of parasitic wasps. In another example, the Euderus Set (also known as the Crypt-Keeper Wasp) is known as a "hyper-manipulator," as it is a parasite that manipulates a parasite within a host. Because this wasp is a species that was only discovered recently (2017), little is known about this insect. It is currently known that this wasp feeds on Bassettia Pallida, a parasitic wasp that feeds on plants. The Bassettia Pallida, also known as the Gall Wasp, manipulates the plant it feeds on into creating galls, or swellings of nutrients, over the wasp's eggs. These galls are the so-called "crypts" in which the crypt-keeper also lays its eggs. Due to the shared space, the crypt-keeper larvae can then infect the larvae of the gall wasp.
When the gall wasp is mature, in normal circumstances, it will eat a hole in the gall that housed it, allowing the mature wasp to climb out. Wasps that are affected by the crypt-keeper wasp, however, will chew a hole far too small and will get its head stuck. The crypt-keeper larvae then eat it's way through the Gall wasp, freeing themselves from the gall.
Zombie parasites aren't limited to just insects, though. Toxoplasma Gondii is a parasite found in 22-84% of the human population, depending on the country. T. Gondii is mainly found in mice, and since it can only reproduce in the intestines of a cat, evolution has created a solution. T. Gondii infects mice, then secretes a chemical that causes the brain signals in the mouse to alter, making the mouse more susceptible to being eaten by a cat. In fact, studies have discovered that the chemicals caused the mouse to have slower reaction times and were reported to be unafraid of the smell of cat urine.
Interestingly, researchers also learned that in infected humans, the smell of cat urine is actually pleasurable. Victims also have been known to be more reckless, and have slower reaction times. Studies have been done to prove this with people in auto accidents, however, there was no clear determination of whether or not people who are affected by the parasite are more prone to automobile accidents than those who are not.
While these examples have opened up a wide realm of possibilities, scientists still say the apocalypse is far off; if it ever actually happens. What these scientists fail to consider is the fact that zombies don't necessarily have to come out of their graves. Zombies are everywhere, the evidence is all around us in nature, not just in media.
Zombies come in all shapes and sizes. Some zombies are tiny parasites, some are cells, some are human. The difference between these zombies doesn't matter, the fact is, they're everywhere. Despite a plethora of evidence, scientists still claim that an apocalypse is still far off, or may never happen. Whatever the case, there is more than enough evidence pointing towards an apocalypse, maybe not in this generation, perhaps not even in the next, but one day, it may be a possibility. Whether or not the "dead" will one day walk among the living, you decide.
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What Will It Take To Cause a Zombie Apocalypse?
Non-FictionA brief essay was written in 2020 as a research project for my high school. This essay single-handedly paved my way into college after graduation, and now I want to share it here, so everyone can enjoy it.