One of the most influential texts of the 19th century, “Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus,” first time A true science fiction novel. The Gothic author of this book, Mary Shelley, was enthusiastic about the cutting edge science of her time, partly because galvanismis the electricity produced by a chemical action that causes an action, for example muscle contraction.
Luigi Galvani, who gave the term its name, argued that galvanism “animal electricHe demonstrated this by electrocuting a dead frog’s leg and observing the leg twitch. Shelley was inspired by these experiments and wove it into the story of Frankenstein’s creature made from corpse potpourri.
Animal electricity has since been dismissed as a scientific concept. Even in the 2020s, there are still plenty of zombie stories and movies out there.Silicon Valley’s tech elite, among other things, are obsessed with the idea that reanimation after death.
Some tropes never seem to die. But is there actually a concept of zombies, a science of living and reanimating after death?
Depending on your definition of zombies, there seems to be some truth to the concept in essence. for example, zombie ant fungus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) targets foraging ants and hijacks their tiny nervous systems. When ants are infected with spores of this fungus, they begin to behave strangely. It seeks out a moister microclimate to help the fungus grow, climbing a few inches above the ground and anchoring itself to a leaf or blade of grass and waiting to die. Chestbusters In “Alien” spread the spores to catch more bugs. A true zombie in nature.
But there are countless examples of zombification in the real world as well.Salon spoke to learn about the real science of zombies active athena, associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University. Alongside Dave Lundberg-Kenrick, she also co-hosts the podcast. Zombificationthis is not a George A. Romero fan club, it is a science education stream intended to explain “why zombification happens, why you are susceptible to zombification and what you can do about it” .
This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Let’s start with the basics. What sparked your interest in zombies?
Many people are surprised to learn that I’m not a zombie movie fanatic in general. What drew me to zombies was their potential as a tool for teaching and learning. Because zombies are strange and compelling beings that can be metaphors for many things. But in reality, zombification has a biological realism to it, with different ways creatures hijack each other.
with drugs [produced by plants]For example, it’s actually about the interactions organisms have with each other via these chemical signals. Many organisms have evolved to produce chemicals that alter the brain functions of other organisms. So there are many kinds of intuitive pharmacologists, organisms that have evolved to do what they do to manipulate the brain chemistry of other organisms.
So how literal are we when we’re talking about zombies, or is it just figurative when we’re talking about this in the scientific realm?
So both. There are real zombies in the world of biology. An organism whose body, brain, and behavior have been hijacked by another organism. Full stop, full takeover. And there are degrees. Therefore, from the Cordyceps fungus, all of the ability to control the fate of insects can be completely overtaken. Or it could be more subtle, such as being in a relationship with another human being. If you’re conditioned to behave in a certain way, it’s a form of zombification.
In other words, the fungus doesn’t completely hijack your body’s functions and hijack them 100% of the time. But while it exists in the realm of zombification, there is also a more metaphorical zombification.
However, the reality is that the actions of the brain and body are hijacked by something that is not you. If that’s the definition of zombies and zombification, it’s everywhere in nature. And we humans are not excluded from it. We are also vulnerable to zombification.
When I talk about things like cordyceps, I think I thought it was kind of a metaphor for the relationship between insects and fungi. But you’re talking more about how it’s akin to brain hijacking.
Yep, there are so many types of zombies in movies. Some of them, they’re dead, they’re buried, they’re coming out of their graves. So it’s like an infected zombie.
The original idea, like buried and reanimated zombies, HaitiThese practices, in which people are given blowfish venom, cause their heart rate to slow so much that they appear to be dead, but they are breathing.
The idea is that this may have been used as a method of managing slaves in Haiti. So the zombie idea has historical roots and is also very real in that there is this blowfish toxin that can cause severe neurological damage and zombie-like behavior. Humans trying to control other humans are both literal and metaphorical aspects of zombies.
I am very interested in this unicellular parasite toxoplasma gondii It turns rats into zombies. can you explain what it is? Is it possible to get infected from cat feces?
Yeah, it’s this organism, whose life cycle relies on parasitizing other organisms, and can infect almost any mammal. It can become infected and can also infect marine mammals.
If you’re a rat and you get it, keep your cat’s urine from smelling. It sexually excites rodents and brings them closer to cat territory. This makes them much more likely to be eaten by cats. toxoplasma gondii.
clearly, [the parasite] We don’t do this consciously, we just evolved to do it. Because it was able to perpetuate itself. A lot of the lessons about zombification are that there really doesn’t have to be any intention of deep manipulation being done. This is because natural selection favors organisms that are good at survival, replication, transmission, and migration to Earth. The next generation, regardless of means.
can infect humans toxoplasma gondiiThere are also some studies that show that some psychiatric disorders are predisposed, especially if the mother is infected with the disorder while in the womb. Schizophrenia, for example. Numerous studies have also examined changes in personality and behavior types. toxoplasma gondii infection. There is some debate as to whether these methods were sufficient to rule out alternative hypotheses. There are some studies that show that
So it’s likely that it has some effects on humans, but I think research is still in its early stages as to exactly what the nature of those effects are. there is no evidence that toxoplasma gondii, it increases your chances of becoming someone with too many cats in your home. But I don’t think anyone has established it yet.
Tell me about this idea you wrote with Joe Alcock conversation About how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, turns people into zombies in a way.
So the basic idea is that when you look at how COVID affects physiology, it actually interferes with pain perception. My colleague Joe Alcock is an emergency room doctor who uses the idea that if you get infected, you are not undead and you are not sick. For example, you are actually sick, your body is suffering from this virus, causing a lot of damage, but you feel better because your perception of pain is disturbed.
So you’re actually more likely to stay home and rest because you’re not involved in typical sick behavior. will also be So by interfering with that pain perception, the virus is essentially delaying its negative effects and delaying the damage it does to the body in order to keep the organism moving. Your body isn’t as invested in your immune system when you’re like, ‘Oh, I feel good, I’m going to do something.’ Many people are asymptomatic.
In my opinion, that whole aspect of COVID has not been studied as deeply as it should. I don’t think it’s a strategy. Sexually transmitted diseases also have this sort of trait that doesn’t actually harm the host. Because if so, they are less likely to be contagious.
So, in my opinion, there is a lot that can and should be done to understand these dynamics. [of zombies]because it’s really, really relevant to the new era we’re in, the pandemic era.
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About zombies in nature
