Permi Aleksandri
Mr. Allen
English 104
May 19, 2015
Zombification: Possibly and Probability [Final Draft]
When you hear the word zombie, what do you think of? Most people will picture a dead, walking
human who has no control over their body or brain. Of course, we all know that zombies are pure fiction,
and do not exist in the real world. But what about animal-zombies? Do zombie-like animals exist in
nature? And if they do, would it be possible for their cells to evolve to humans? Research shows that
there are numerous animals who are infected by viruses, parasites, or fungi, causing them to behave like
zombies. And although it is possible for the zombie-genes to evolve to humans, it is not probable.
Why is it that zombies are almost always associated with humans, and not animals? The media
likes to portray humans rather than animals because of the fear factor. As humans, we tend to get afraid
of the thought of turning into a zombie, or being confronted by one. An animal zombie does not seem
much different than its normal state. Think of a lion. It attacks its prey and rips it to pieces with no
question. What would change if it becomes a zombie? Not much—maybe it will be a bit more violent,
and its physical features would be altered. But that would be about it. However, these animal-zombies
already exist, and what scientists have discovered are spine-chilling. It is one of those things that does
not sound scary at first, but once you see it for yourself, you understand why it was deemed scary. For
now however, let us discover the different zombie-animals that exist in nature. The animals include, but
are not limited to, carpenter ants, crickets, and rats.
The first animal we are going to talk about is the carpenter ant. Author Elizabeth Landau from
CNN, in the article, “Real Zombies Found in Nature”, interviewed David Hughes, assistant professor of
entomology and biology at Pennsylvania State University, who studies real-life zombie scenarios among
ants. Landau quotes Hughes who states, “Every single organism that we look at has its own parasite, but
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only a small proportion of them have evolved this cruel trick of manipulating the behavior of the host
that they’re infecting,” (Landau 1). One of the groups of fungi he studied, called Ophiocordyceps, are
part of the handful who change the behavior of the host. The infection process is as follows: The fungus
releases spores that stick to their skin. And in less than a day, the spore grows inside the skin and it is at
this stage where the spore is now in control of the ant. The ant, infected, aimlessly walks around, lost in
the forest, until it finds an area with a temperature and humidity that is suitable for fungal growth. Once
found, “the ant will go to the underside of a leaf, bite into the veins and hang upside down to die for
about six hours. The fungus makes them hold on (to the leaf) even after they’re dead. From the head of
the ant corpse sprouts more fungus, which emits spores, infecting more ants” (Landau 1). The term
zombie is being used quite lightly here. We are not talking about dead animals coming to life—rather
living animals who get their brains manipulated by parasitic invasions. But ants aren’t the only insects
who are infected by mind-controlling parasites.
The second unlucky animal is the grasshopper. Unlike ants, they are not infected by spores, but
rather Nematomorpha, also known as parasitic hairworm. In the article, “Nature’s Walking Dead: RealLife Zombies”, author Liz Langley of National Geographic wrote about these hairworms. She stated that
in 2005, a team of French biologists studied how the hairworm gets inside the grasshoppers. Their
research shows that “hairworm larvae, possibly ingested by grasshoppers in the water they drink, grow
to occupy the grasshopper’s body—the entire thing, except the head and legs” (Langley 1). The worm
then causes changes in the grasshopper’s brain chemistry which makes the grasshopper crave water. The
grasshopper, possessed, goes to a nearby lake to drink water, and during that time, the worm exits into
the water, killing the grasshopper. The worm then reproduces, and proceeds to ingest other grasshoppers
and repeat the process.
Another animal that displays suicidal behaviors when invaded by parasites are rats. The main
goal for parasites are to spread to as many hosts as possible, and that is exactly what the Toxoplasma
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parasite does. It makes rats lose their fear of cats, causing them to be eaten by cats. What is most
remarkable about this is that “even we humans may not be immune to the behavioral influences of
parasites. Toxoplasma also infects humans, at much higher rates in some countries than others, and some
researchers are looking into whether that could affect personality” (Landau 1). In the article, “Parasites Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection)”, released by the CDC, warns that, “more than 60 million
Americans are carrying the Toxoplasma parasite. In most people, there are no symptoms because the
human immune system usually stops the parasite from causing illness” (CDC 1). Similarly, there are
parasites that infect humans that are similar to the ones in animal-zombies.
Landau explains, pregnant women should be careful around cats because the Toxoplasmosis
infection can cause blindness or mental disabilities for their children. She adds, “Cats can play a role in
the transmission of Toxoplasma through feces. That's why those people are advised to keep their cats
indoors and to avoid changing cat litter and touching stray cats” (Landau 1).
“This parasite may be affecting us in ways we do not realize” (Landau 1). She also quotes Kevin
Lafferty of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who has done some highly controversial work
suggesting:
Certain cultural-personality traits such as neuroticism may be correlated with levels of
Toxoplasma gondii. He suggest that countries with higher infection levels may be more
likely to have stronger "masculine sex roles" in their societies, insofar as they "reinforce
traditional gender work roles, gender differentiation, and have a higher focus on ego,
ambition, money, material possessions, self-achievement and work than on relationships,
people, social support and quality of life. (Langley 1)
However, animal-zombie parasites could evolve to invade humans as well. We have seen deadly
viruses and parasites jump from one species to another many times in the past. What’s to say that these
zombie cells couldn’t evolve to humans as well? One instance is the spread of HIV/AIDS from non-
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human primates to humans. Wouldn’t this be nearly the same thing? How about Rabies? It is a deadly
disease that has affected a great deal of people.
Samita Andreansky, a virologist at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in
Florida, who was mentioned in the article, "Zombie Virus" Possible via Rabies-Flu Hybrid?” by Ker
Than, defines Rabies as, “a viral disease that infects the central nervous system—can drive people to be
violently mad” (Than 1). Rabies symptoms take anywhere from ten days to a year to show signs. The
symptoms include anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, and paralysis. It does not seem deadly at first, but
if left untreated, it will be fatal. Christine Dell'Amore of National Geographic, in the article, “World
War Z: Could a Zombie Virus Happen”, quotes Kartik Chandran, a microbiologist and immunologist at
the Albert Einstein College in New York who studies the deadly Ebola virus. Chandran writes:
Like the mythical zombie virus, rabies is transferred through biting. Once inside your
body, the virus travels directly to your brain and “makes you go nuts and go and bite
more people,” he said. More than 55,000 people, mostly in Africa and Asia, die from
rabies every year, which is one person every ten minutes, according to the World Rabies
Day website. Most infected people are bitten by rabid wildlife. (Dell'Amore 1)
So could Rabies undergo a mutation that would speed up the process, and in turn start an apocalypse?
Humans have experienced events in history where countless people got wiped out from a virus. One
example is the Spanish Flu. In a 2010, Dr. James Randolph Farris, documentary entitled, We Heard the
Bells: The Influenza of 1918, It is explained that the Spanish Flu killed an estimated 50 to a 100 million
people–more than three times the amount who died in WWI. With a worldwide population of 1.85
billion at the time, that's 3-5% of the planet wiped out (We Heard). So what would have to happen to
the genetic code of Rabies in order for it to turn into an apocalyptic virus? Author Than points out:
If the genetic code of the rabies virus experienced enough changes, or mutations, its
incubation time could be reduced dramatically. Many viruses have naturally high
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mutation rates and constantly change as a means of evading or bypassing the defenses of
their hosts. There are various ways viral mutations can occur, for example through
copying mistakes during gene replication or damage from ultraviolet light. (Than 1)
In other words, the virus could skip a step in the process of invasion, cutting down the time it takes to
infect its host. Interestingly enough, this has already been done by a virus called Typhus. In the
fascinating book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies”, written by Jared M.
Diamond, it is explained that Typhus initially went from rat fleas, to rats, then to humans. But after a
while, Typhus figured out a more efficient way to infect us–by cutting out the unnecessary carriers and
going directly from human body lice to humans (Diamond 31). He adds, “Diseases represent evolution
in progress, and microbes adapt by natural selection to new hosts and vectors. But compared with cows'
bodies, ours offer different immune defenses, lice, feces, and chemistries. In that new environment, a
microbe must evolve new ways to live and to propagate itself. In several instructive cases doctors or
veterinarians have actually been able to observe microbes evolving those new ways” (Diamond 31).
What if rabies and other deadly viruses were to do this? The result would be a drastic decrease of the
incubation time, making the viruses twice, if not three times as deadly as they already are. Ultimately,
“the combination of rabies with the ability of a flu virus to spread quickly through the air gives you the
makings of a zombie apocalypse” (Than 1). That is why the shows like The Walking Dead and World
War Z aren’t just fantasized like one might think. But what if scientists wanted to speed up the process,
and engineer a zombie-virus? University of Miami’s Andreansky says that although it is possible, it is
not probable since it is extremely difficult.
Scientists know how to engineer a zombie-virus, but considering its difficulties and unlikely
success, they have not attempted it yet. Than notes:
"Sure, I could imagine a scenario where you mix rabies with a flu virus to get airborne
transmission, a measles virus to get personality changes, the encephalitis virus to cook
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your brain with fever and throw in the Ebola virus to cause you to bleed from your guts.
Combine all these things, and you'll [get] something like a zombie virus. But [nature]
doesn't allow all of these things to happen at the same time. You'd most likely get a dead
virus." (Than 1)
Considering that majority of viruses on Earth infect single-celled microbes, humans are safer
than animals. In addition, there is nothing to fear, because viruses are all around us already—they are
part of the cycle. Slonczewski notes, “There are more helpful viruses than harmful ones. Some viruses
are even essential to our survival, performing functions like stimulating our immune system”
(Dell'Amore 1). To conclude, yes there are zombie-animals that exist in nature. However, it is not
probable for their viruses or parasites to jump into humans’ genome. Same goes for engineering a
zombie-virus. Hence, making a zombie apocalypse very unlikely. It is now clear that the zombieapocalyptic concepts we see in movies aren’t so far-fetched. Although most of it is fantasized, the
concepts are all inspired by occurrences in nature. So stop worrying about a future apocalypse, and just
enjoy those movies because there is nothing to fear.
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Work Cited
Diamond, Jared M. "Main Reasons for European Conquest Chapter 11. “Lethal Gift of Livestock” (pp.
205-214)." Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W.W. Norton,
1998. N. pag. Print.
Dell'Amore, Christine. "World War Z: Could a Zombie Virus Happen?" Voices. National Geographic,
25 June 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
Landau, Elizabeth. "Real Zombies Found in Nature." Light Years RSS. CNN, 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 25
Apr. 2015.
Langley, Liz. "Nature’s Walking Dead." Voices. National Geographic, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Apr.
2015.
"Parasites - Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma Infection)." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 08 May 2015.
Than, Ker. ""Zombie Virus"" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 25 Apr.
2015.
We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918. Dir. Lisa Laden. Perf. S. Epatha Merkerson. Health and
Human Services, 2010. Internet Archive. Health and Human Services, 2010. Web. 09 May
2015.
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