Zombie article in real life. Do zombies exist? How can you turn a person into a zombie?

Over the past years, the theme of zombies has developed and taken a strong position in our culture.. Especially in recent years, the idea of ​​a zombie apocalypse has been popular, in which the remnants of humanity fight for their place on the planet along with the walking dead, as in the series “The Walking Dead”.

Most often, the appearance of the first revived corpse is not mentioned anywhere and the mystery of how it all began is not revealed. In some disaster movie scenarios, the beginning of the apocalypse is an infectious disease.

The body's mutation occurs due to a pathogen being transmitted from one person to another by a virus (as in "Resident Evil") through a bite.

Often, the scenario for the beginning of the “end of the world” is an accident at a secret facility or in a secret scientific laboratory, from where a deadly virus breaks out, turning people into eternally hungry cannibal dead (“28 days later”).

The appearance of aggressive zombies is also associated with magic, especially voodoo magic, due to which the zombified person obeys someone’s orders (as in the 1932 film “White Zombie”) or a demon or evil spirit is infused into a dead body. Also, one of the options for the appearance of zombies is recognized as “God’s punishment”, a kind of brain burning option, where there is only one goal left - to eat.

It has long been proven that they cannot exist in the real world, even despite the fascinating idea of ​​a zombie apocalypse; extreme survival in terrible conditions of struggle against a supernaturally strong enemy, practically indestructible.

Despite the romanticism of this combination of circumstances - one on one with one’s own “I” and with a small group of people (if you’re lucky), where you can find a connection with another person. After all, now it’s more difficult for people to find a common language, get out of the Internet space and establish contact with someone live, it’s another matter when everyone has no choice - romance!

There are several good reasons why zombies cannot exist and be part of the real world in principle. And only the power of magic can explain the existence of zombies.

1) Firstly, often in films, literature and games, the zombie's brain is completely dead, controlled solely by the reflex of endless hunger. But the body cannot function without the brain! A dead body retains only some functions after death:

- hair and nails continue to grow;
- the rate of skin cell growth gradually decreases and stops with loss of blood circulation within a few days;

- urination may occur due to muscle weakness;
- after the heartbeat stops, the blood collects in the lowest place, depending on the position in which the person died, this can cause an erection, and during post-mortem relaxation and muscle contraction, ejaculation can occur;

- defecation occurs due to weakening of muscles and due to gases released in the body;
- reflexive muscle movement associated with areas of the nervous system that can still remain active for some time after death and send electrical signals to the muscles; in this case, strong movement is impossible, minor muscle spasms are observed;

- during decay and the activity of bacteria destroying the body, the amount of mucus and gases inside increases, and in combination with post-mortem rigor can sometimes lead to unpleasant and eerie sounds emanating from the dead body, as if the dead man is “speaking”;

- gases accumulating inside the body can also cause an unpleasant and extremely rare phenomenon of childbirth in a female corpse. This happens if a woman was pregnant during her lifetime, but after death the child’s corpse was not removed from the mother’s womb and was buried with her (they may not have known about the pregnancy, an autopsy was not performed, or due to religious beliefs they were buried together). Gases accumulated in a decomposing corpse lead to post-mortem expulsion of the fetus;

- Brain activity persists after the heart stops, the duration of brain activity can range from a few minutes to several days with the use of certain drugs and under certain circumstances, although if the heart begins to beat again, most often the brain will suffer irreparable damage due to oxygen deprivation.

As you can see, the human body is unable to continue to function very long after the fact of death, and the extent of its performance is limited to a few reflexes and minimal bodily functions.

2) Secondly, a decaying corpse, even if infected with a super virus, cannot move, walk, much less run, even if some part of the brain is alive and continues to send impulses to the limbs, because the muscle cells are dead and the impulses do not reach the neurons to muscle fibers, which in turn cannot contract.

In rotting meat, the cells are dead, and any movement requires impulses. Even if the dead person is new and fresh, impulses to his cells will arrive more and more slowly, because without blood supply the vital activity of the cells is impossible, therefore, they will die and decomposition will begin.

3) The heart does not work - the tissues are not supplied with oxygen, important biochemical processes responsible for the production of energy with which the limbs move do not occur. In a body in which the heart and, accordingly, the lungs do not work, long-term aerobic processes, that is, movement, cannot occur, because there is no blood circulation and there is no oxygen supply.

At a minimum, due to these 3 important aspects, humanity will never experience the zombie apocalypse in all its glory. You don’t have to loot the ruins of your city, fighting off aggressive walking corpses with a machete or shotgun in your hands. Raising a corpse from the grave and making it walk and attack others can only be done by magic that can move even dead cells and a non-functioning brain.

The closest movie about a zombie apocalypse to reality is 28 Weeks Later. In the film, the virus that turns people into "zombies" was called the rage virus and did not kill its carriers, depriving them of control over their actions and giving them super strength, which is very similar to the rabies virus.

Also transmitted through saliva or a bite, the virus infected the brain and spread along nerve pathways. Emotions are controlled by the frontal lobes of the brain, in the deep parts of which there are areas responsible for primitive emotions, such as aggression and hunger.

The part of the brain responsible for actions receives signals from them and controls these emotions by triggering the stop function. Obviously, when the brain is damaged, the stop functions stop working, which causes attacks of rage, and during aggression, hormones (testosterone, adrenaline, etc.) and enzymes are released that contribute to the emergence of superpower, which is already present in the potential of the human body.

Yes, we should not forget that humans do not use the full potential inherent in us by nature. Yes, in extreme situations with powerful adrenaline rushes, people are able to run faster or lift heavy things that they would not be able to lift in a normal situation. In these cases, the body works hard, but this is the functioning of the body controlled by the brain.

Considering all of the above, based on scientific data on the topic of zombies and the zombie apocalypse, this problem can be dismissed as utter nonsense. True, if the physical world does not allow the possibility of zombies existing in reality, then there is also the world of magical formulas.

In the world of magic and spells, with work on the body and objects, everything is much simpler. Here it is enough to whisper a spell, sprinkle some tricky powder on the fire, and any body changes its characteristics in the required direction. In this case, yes, not only are gnarled sticks charged with megatons of atomic energy possible here, but zombie creatures are also acceptable.

Zombies have been a staple of pop culture for decades, but only recently have they come to the fore, thanks in large part to The Walking Dead, which portrayed a post-apocalyptic world with plausibility. And although the main characters of the series are dead monsters hungry for human flesh (which in itself is an impossible phenomenon), many of us believe that this could happen to us one day. Moreover, especially zealous fanatics even develop special survival plans in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

There is still something special about these undead that feeds the irrational fear of humanity. But what really happens if the brain dies and the body remains functional? According to most, there is something sinister about the way an empty shell of a man walks the earth. Below you can read a dozen interesting facts about zombies that you probably haven't even heard of.

10. Zombies come from Haiti

The first mention of zombies was found in Haiti. The descriptions of these zombies sound familiar: they have tough gray skin and lack any emotions. It is said that zombies are the resurrected dead who do not feel pain and any needs characteristic of the living are alien to them. Any person who behaves incorrectly with certain people can become a zombie.

9. Zombies are created and used by magicians
Most of the Haitian population believes in witchcraft and magic. It is probably for this reason that people who call themselves sorcerers or shamans have power. Usually such people are called “bokor”; according to stories, they use black magic to bring the dead back to life. They usually reanimate the corpses of dead family members and use them for their own purposes, most often as labor. Many zombies become slaves of their masters. The local population of Haiti lives in fear of the possibility of being zombified, giving local shamans complete power over the settlements.

8. Real evidence of zombies


Not all evidence of such incidents is old. In 1996-1997, researchers described three different cases of people "coming back from the dead" in Haiti. These are quite interesting stories, since there is no official explanation for their return to life.

The first story goes like this: “F.I. was about 30 years old when she died due to fever. Her family buried her the next day in the family crypt not far from their home. 3 years later she was discovered by an acquaintance wandering near the village.” The woman was identified by her family and then taken to a psychiatric hospital.

The second case occurred with 18-year-old V.D. He died and was buried, but later appeared in the village, coming to a cockfight. He accused his uncle of being a zombie.

The third case turned out to be the strangest: “After 18-year-old M.M. In the company of friends, she performed a ritual of prayers for her neighbor, who had been zombified, she came down with diarrhea and fever, her body was swollen. The girl died a few days later. 13 years later she appeared again. According to her, all these years she was in slavery, and now, since her bokor died, she was freed.”

7. Real zombies are not as bloodthirsty as people think they are.
...A bloodthirsty zombie approaches you and reaches out with its hands, trying to grab your throat.. A familiar picture, isn’t it? But it is far from reality. It's not surprising that the West has made zombies more bloodthirsty, it's much more interesting. However, zombies were originally meant to mean something completely different. According to Haitian lore, zombies are actually hapless walking corpses. They are not aggressive, and they do not crave human flesh. They spend most of their time wandering aimlessly, waiting for their souls to be released so they can leave this world.

6. You can get out of this state


Once you've been turned into a walking corpse, you still have a chance to return to your normal human form. There is a way to reverse this process. A certain bokor creates a zombie, but its death breaks the spell and the zombies are freed. In addition, he can free zombies during his lifetime, since it is the bokor that stores the souls of the dead.

5. Zombification was used as a threat
As mentioned above, becoming a zombie was and still is a fairly real threat according to Haitians. Bokors are considered incredibly powerful sorcerers that no one can defeat. The threat of zombies was previously used by them in some regions of the country, where people tried to resist their power.

4. The first rumors about zombies reached America at the beginning of the 20th century


From 1915 to 1934, when American soldiers were first stationed in Haiti, they witnessed tales and stories of black magic. It was the soldiers who brought these legends to the continent. Although they were not taken seriously, zombies have since become a part of American pop culture. Although the soldiers themselves, being far from home, in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by superstitions, could probably succumb to the legends and believe in the power of the Bokors.

3. Bokors break into crypts in search of corpses that could be turned into zombies
As if the other legends surrounding zombies weren't enough, here's another one: many claim that bokors like to wander through crypts in search of fresh corpses, which they try to bring back to life. In addition, for their spells they often take certain body parts from the dead. Black magic, what can you do? It is not clear how successful their rituals are, but the very fact of such terrible stories is a little scary. There is something about this that is reminiscent of the famous story of Frankenstein.

2. Zombification is illegal in Haiti.
And although most of us are not afraid of zombies, among the Haitian population this fear is still alive. Officially, creating zombies is considered illegal and is considered murder. Even the fact that this is a reversible process does not remove the gravity of such an offense.

1. Modern zombies: myth or reality?
Even though zombie origin stories are somewhat murky and often disagree on many things, that doesn't stop them from being as popular as ever. Modern zombies in our fantasies have evolved from a sad, tormented soul to a hungry monster. All this is, in large part, due to the West's bloodthirsty desire to make the modern world a little more interesting and exciting. But what can we say about real evidence of zombies? Are they real? Can this phenomenon be explained scientifically? Many scientists believe that this is possible with the use of any strong poisons that cause brain death and literally turn a person into a weak-willed vegetable.

Abnormal infectious proteins, called prions, can block some parts of the brain while leaving others intact, creating a zombie out of a person. It may well be, but it's not that simple.

In the West African and Haitian teachings of Voodoo, zombies are human beings without a soul, their bodies are nothing more than shells controlled by powerful sorcerers. In the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, an army of bumbling, feeble-minded corpse eaters brought to life by radiation attacks a group of Pennsylvania natives. We're looking for something between Haiti and Hollywood: an infectious agent that will leave its victims half-dead, yet still living shells of who they used to be.

This effective agent will target and block specific areas of the brain, scientists say. And although the living dead have intact motor skills - the ability to walk, of course, but also the ability to tear, necessary to devour human flesh, their frontal lobe, responsible for moral behavior, planning and inhibiting impulsive actions (such as the urge to bite someone something) will cease to exist. The cerebellum, which controls motor coordination, will likely be functional, but not fully functional. This explains the fact that zombies in movies are easy to outrun or hit with a baseball bat.

Most likely, the culprit of such a partially destroyed brain is protein. More precisely, a protein-like infectious particle called a prion. It's not exactly a virus or a living particle, but it is virtually impossible to destroy and there is no known way to treat the disease these prions cause.

The first prion epidemic was discovered around 1950 in Papua New Guinea, when members of one of the local tribes were struck by a strange tremors. At times the sick people of this tribe burst into uncontrollable laughter. The tribe called this disease “kuru,” and by the early 1960s, scientists had discovered that the source of the disease originated from the tribe’s cannibalistic funeral customs, including eating brains.

Prions became widely known in the 1990s as the infectious agents responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease. When a deformed prion enters our body, like a mad cow, holes form in our brain, like holes in a sponge. Scintigraphy of the brains of people infected with the prion looked as if they had been shot in the head with a pellet gun.

Scary assumptions

If we think that evil geniuses are planning to destroy our world, then all they have to do is attach a prion to a virus, since prion diseases spread very easily through the population. For things to actually get even more catastrophic, we would need a virus that spreads very quickly and that carries prions to the frontal lobe of the brain and the cerebellum. Targeting the infection specifically to these parts of the body will be difficult, but it is very important in order to create the shambling, stupid creatures that we need.

Scientists propose using a virus that causes encephalitis, inflammation of the cerebral cortex. A herpes virus will also work, but it is unlikely that it will be possible to attach a prion to a virus. After infection, we will have to stop the spread of the prion in the body so that our zombies do not become completely immobile and their brains completely useless. Scientists suggest adding sodium bicarbonate to stimulate metabolic alkalosis, which raises the body's pH levels and makes it harder for prions to multiply. In this case, the person will have seizures, convulsive muscle contractions and will look as terrible as a zombie.

If a child finds himself in a cemetery late at night, he will feel very afraid. He will be afraid even if you leave him a gun so that he can protect himself. Why do you think? Maybe because, on some instinctive level, all people understand that the Zombie Apocalypse is just a matter of time.

Our culture is full of stories about zombies, ranging from various religions to modern comic books. Let us remember, for example, what is said in the oldest literary work - "The Epic of Gilgamesh" - about the possibility of a zombie invasion:

“I will pave the way into the depths of the underworld,
I will raise the dead so that the living may be devoured,
Then there will be fewer living than dead!” promises the goddess Ishtar.

In fact, this is quite possible. Here are five scientific reasons why a Zombie Apocalypse could actually happen.

But these are just mice, you say. How can this lead to the Zombie Apocalypse? By the way, yes, we forgot to mention that from 30 to 50% of people in different countries are infected with toxoplasma. Maybe even you are one of them. Flip a coin!

Recent studies have shown that those infected exhibit personality changes and are more likely to develop certain mental disorders.

So, imagine that suddenly half the population completely loses the instinct of self-preservation and rational thinking... Well, we mean that much more is lost than now.

What do you think, maybe these specialists do their work under the influence of toxoplasma? If you don't want to sleep peacefully at night anymore, then we will tell you that this is actually the case.

No. 4. Neurotoxins

There are poisons that can slow down the physiological functions of the human body so much that the person appears dead. And no one, not even a doctor, will be able to determine that he is actually alive (well, except perhaps a very good doctor). By the way, the poison of the Japanese fugu fish falls into this category.

The victim can then be brought back to life with the help of certain alkaloids (for example, a preparation from Datura vulgare). The victim will remain in a trance-like state, but will be able to perform simple tasks such as eating, sleeping, moaning, and staggering around with arms outstretched.

And how can this lead to zombies?

Bring? Already brought!

The concept of "zombie" came to us from Haiti. There is a well-known story about the poor guy Clairvous Narcissus. He was considered dead by two doctors, and was buried in 1962. And 18 years later he was found wandering aimlessly around the village. As it turns out, local voodoo priests can pull off such things using various substances extracted from natural raw materials. And then they exploit such zombie people in sugar cane plantations. Don't believe me?! This is the purest truth! :)

So if you drink your tea or coffee with cane sugar, who knows, maybe zombies got it?

So, on the one hand, this has already happened. But on the other hand, even if someone could spread a neurotoxin through the population to turn them into a mindless and shambling mob, there is no way to turn this crowd into aggressive cannibals. There is no way yet...

No. 3. Virus of rage

In the movie, this virus turns people into mindless killing machines, and in real life there are many brain diseases that lead to the same result. But these diseases are not contagious. But then mad cow disease appeared, also known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, when a person is infected, not a cow. The disease attacks the cow's brain and spinal cord and turns it into a stumbling, brainless and aggressive animal. This disease is caused by what is called a “prion infection.” The disease is contagious, although prions are not germs or even viruses. They belong to a special type of proteins that can interact with normal proteins and cause their structure to change to pathological.

After infection, a person experiences the following symptoms:

Changes in gait;

Hallucinations;

Coordination problems (eg, tripping and falling);

Muscle twitching;

Convulsions;

Rapidly developing disturbances of consciousness and/or dementia.

This is, in fact, a rather rare disease (although it may actually not be as rare as we are told). And there are no cases described of the infected chasing other people in a bloodthirsty crowd. So far there have been no such cases...

What conclusion should be drawn from this? That brain infections are a widespread phenomenon, and the appearance of such a disease, but also accompanied by rage, is just a matter of time.

Don't forget that there is only one substance in the brain (serotonin) that prevents us from turning into a killing machine. For a hypothetical virus, it is enough to learn to block the production of this substance or turn off the brain’s ability to perceive it. So imagine a disease that can spread either through food, or through blood and saliva (by a bite, for example). This is super madness.
One bite is guaranteed to turn you into the worst kind of zombie imaginable.

No. 2. Neurogenesis

So where is this all going? Have you guessed it?

Science, theoretically, can save you from almost anything, but not from brain death. You can transplant organs and tissues, but when the brain dies, you are done for. But scientists have almost learned how to re-grow brain tissue in patients in a coma and with serious brain injuries. And very soon this technology will be finally debugged. True, these resuscitation processes have one nuance. The fact is that the brain dies in the direction from its outer layers - to the inner ones. And on the outside is the cerebral cortex - what makes you a person. Deep down is the part of the brain that controls motor and basic primitive functions.

If we take a brain-dead patient and restore only the functions of the brain stem, we will get a mindless body, dragging its feet, without thoughts and personality. Just instincts. And this can be called a zombie.

In every legal system in the world, all rights and obligations end with death. All that is needed is someone with sufficient resources and the need for a brainless and completely obedient workforce. So the implementation of this option is not far off.

And finally...

No. 1. Nanobots

What are nanobots or nanorobots? We believe that you understand in general terms what technologies we are talking about. It's worth adding, however, that nanobots were apparently designed just to make you fear the future...

Nanobots are microscopic self-replicating robots that can either build or destroy something unnoticed. Every year more and more financial resources are invested in these technologies. It is clear that these technologies will sooner or later destroy humanity, but people cannot resist the temptation to see with their own eyes exactly how this will happen.

But how, after all, can these technologies lead to the Zombie Apocalypse?
A so-called nano-cyborg has already been created - a synthetic miniature electronic circuit associated with a microorganism. Such a nanocyborg can work up to one month after the death of the owner. Notice how scientists directly approached the appearance of “zombies” and even at such an early stage.

So, one day nanorobots will appear in people’s brains; they will be programmed to form new neural connections to replace damaged ones and to maintain their bodies’ activity at some minimum level even after the death of the human host. Perhaps they will be able to maintain the functioning of bodies until they begin to decompose on the fly...

Nanorobots will be programmed to reproduce themselves, but after the destruction of the hosts' bodies, the nanorobots should also die. Acting in accordance with a given program, they will have to be transferred to a new host, for example, through a bite.

Once they enter the body of a new host and reach the brain, they will be able to turn off the cortex and leave the trunk functioning. Thus, the army of the undead will be replenished with one more member.

We believe that the probability of this particular scenario being realized is the highest. This is our point of view, but we will be very interested to find out what you think about all this. Write comments.

As we mentioned at the very beginning of the article, our culture is very rich in fairy tales and myths on the theme of zombies, and we cannot help but mention, perhaps, the television series iZombie. There, zombies are presented not in the form of howling, stupid, aggressive and eternally hungry creatures, but in the form of a pretty and not at all stupid blonde Olivia “Liv” Moore. Are the creators of the series trying to convey some hidden meaning? You can find out more about the series here (

An extremely popular scenario - the zombie apocalypse. Moreover, its popularity is based not on some logical justification, but on banal human fears. , people are afraid of other people, people are afraid of chaos.

A the zombie apocalypse- this is when people en masse turn into actively moving dead people and create chaos.

But can this happen in reality? Let's try to figure it out.

Unknown viruses

Neurotoxins

Classic reason zombie apocalypse - neurotoxin, practically eliminating higher nervous activity. At the same time, the main functions of the central brain and brainstem continue to work. Even some subcortical centers are functioning. Considering the level of development of biochemistry, this can theoretically be created. Based on tetradotoxin, for example. This, let me remind you, is a poison from puffer fish, which effectively blocks the transmission of nerve impulses, so in small doses it can be used as an anesthetic, and in large doses it causes paralysis of the respiratory centers. And the first mentions of classic zombies from the traditions of Haitian voodoo sorcerers speak of the use of various neurotoxins, first to put a person into a state of clinical death, and then to completely control his behavior. Fiction? Maybe. But such legends are not born out of nowhere, and I personally really don’t want someone to raise me after death and force me to work...

Nanorobots

Nanotechnology is not just bullshit that can be used to cover up the cutting of billions. This is a really working thing, extremely useful and, at the same time, extremely dangerous. Scientists have already found that miniature self-replicating robots may well exist in the human body even after his physical death. And not only to live and reproduce, but also to forcibly form neural connections, and therefore control the body. In theory. This process is not fast, so the object will be very reminiscent of a classic zombie. Unless, of course, nanorobots can form "hive mind" and coordinate your interaction instantly. In this case, humanity will come to an end in any case. Fortunately, at the current level of technology development, nanotoids are not capable of uncontrolled self-reproduction. Bye.

Unknown reason

The worst thing is when cause of zombie apocalypse remains beyond human understanding. Seriously, you can come up with some means of protection and counteraction against everything else, but what if the dead rise for unknown reasons? In the Abrahamic religions' version of the doomsday scenario, this is exactly what will happen. And it's really scary. Even a single such resurrection gave rise to a huge split among ancient people, the echoes of which still claim tens of thousands of lives. Should this be considered a miracle or not? Don't know. But I can imagine the horror of the ancients, who, having moved away the stone closing the tomb, saw something moving towards them. Get on your knees and pray? Hardly. Almost everyone had weapons then, and there was no reverence for human life. So they suppressed the zombie apocalypse in the bud, and then weaved stories about "Ascension".