Why Zombies are biologically impossible

[FMJeff]

As some of you may or may not know, one of the few Hollywood creations which genuinely creep the living shit out of me is Zombies. The idea of being eaten alive or doomed to walk the earth as one of the living dead are perhaps the most hellish things that could happen to you. Indeed, after a good Zombie movie, I will often have Zombie nightmares for several weeks, off an on, sometimes forcing me to run to the window to see if Zombies had taken over in my sleep. I wish I was joking.

The other day though, a thought occurred to me that completely cured me of my fears of the Zombie. It's a technique I used throughout my childhood to eliminate fears of the monsters and demons...a little thing I like to call...science.

I was trying to figure out how Zombies could be biologically possible in the real world. Mike The Teacher, I would love for you to jump in on this one.

1) In order for Zombies to experience any kind of ambulation, be it running like the Zombies in 28 Days Later or the even more menacing creeping of the Night of the Living Dead zombie, they would need functioning muscular and vascular systems. Oxygen is carried to muscle tissue by red blood cells through vascular system powered by the beating of the heart. If muscle tissue is not regularly oxygenated, it will eventually die. This fact alone renders the Zombie biologically impossible. Zombies have no operating cardio-vascular system. If they did, every Zombie would have blood spurting out of their open wounds until their body was completely drained of blood making sustained muscular oxygenation impossible. Without muscle, the limbs do not move, the jaw does not work and the Zombie is inevitably rendered immobile.

2) Zombies have no gastrointestinal system. The transmission of nutrients from the intestines into the blood stream requires a working vascular system. Thus it would make no difference how many brains they've eaten if they could not process the brains into energy and use that energy to power thier body.

3) Decomposition. Considering open wounds are invitations to flies and bacteria, Zombies would be just as susceptible to putrefaction and scavenger insects/animals as dead people would. Dead flesh is extremely inviting to flies, in particular, who can reduce a large mammal to bone in under two weeks. Muscle and other ambulatory tissue would become infected and begin to decompose making them useless.

4) Rigormortis. The biochemical cause of rigor mortis is hydrolysis of ATP in the muscle tissue, the chemical energy source required for movement. Myosin molecules devoid of ATP become permanently adherent to actin filaments and muscles become rigid. Zombies wouldn't be able to move.

Those are my four main arguements.

[cupcakelove]

The second you let your guard down, is the second they make their move. I'm not buying it.

[Death Metal Moe]

That's exactly what the Libs WANT you to believe Jeff!

[MadMatt]

The second you let your guard down, is the second they make their move. I'm not buying it.

:lol::clap::lol:

F-ing brilliant! Never let your guard down!

[rooter]

You should watch Serpent and the Rainbow. That will make you scared again.


As for other seemingly unrealistic zombie films, I have one word for you: tittie power!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/285108642_28abf8d6e6.jpg?v=0

[MadMatt]

I have one point of contention regarding #1 - in "28 Days Later" they weren't actually Zombies. All of the afflicted were alive but had contracted a virus that robbed them of their sanity and cognitive reasoning while increasing production of adrenaline (among other things). For this reason, they could take extensive physical damage and still be ambulatory, attacking anything and anyone they could find.

Also, they do end up dying eventually. After the food runs out and their body gives out they die.

Therefore, they could exist in real life.

Sleep tight.

[Pitdoc]

FM Jeff, truly a good scientific explanation.Well thought out,with good reasoning..

In fact,, even from here,,I can smell your

BRAIIIIINN!!!!!

[TheMojoPin]

Jeff, have you read The Zombie Survival Guide (http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Survival-Guide-Complete-Protection/dp/1400049628/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-8726099-9286563?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181074843&sr=1-2)? The fictional reasonings in it (and the "follow-up" novel, World War Z) behind the "science" of zombies are pretty interesting and attempt to explain all of the arguments you had. The long and short of it is a disease basically puts people into a deeeeeeeeep coma, appearing as if they've died, and then they "return" as zombies. Ultimately, their bodies will end up being destroyed biologically due to their "zombie" lifestyle and medical condition, but certain adjustments and mutations happen in the meantime that allow them to roam around chomping on the living.

And I think zombies are always depicted as rotting, so ultimately they would just fall apart...but until they do, they attack people and create more zombies, so they just get replaced once they fall apart. The books above talk about zombies having a pretty short "lifepsan" due to their decomposition.

[Death Metal Moe]

You should watch Serpent and the Rainbow. That will make you scared again.



It just made me scared to pick up nails for about 3 years, but scary none the less.

[Mike Teacher]

Your 4 points are valid and basically all boil down to physics; you cant get more energy out then energy in; so any *real* zombie would have to violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics/entropy.

Jeff if you haven't already you need

The Zombie Survival Guide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zombie_Survival_Guide)

They call it fiction; I'm not believing that for a second.

I also just finished a book from the future, World War Z, by Brooks also; it gives a partial account of the future Zombie uprising. Scary. Nothing save the 'one thru the head' method kills em. Nada.

So; why are zombies so appealing to peeps like us?

[TheMojoPin]

We love zombies because they are, by far, the best movie monster metaphors around. Ultimately, nothing scares us more than ourselves, and zombies are just us but with an appetite for flesh and brains and violent death.

"We have seen the enemy...and it is us."

[reeshy]

no......Zombies are real.......mike....stop feeding Jeff bullshit.......Zombies are real!!!!!

[Dougie Brootal]

no......Zombies are real.......mike....stop feeding Jeff bullshit.......Zombies are real!!!!!

thats comin from a real live zombie, so you can take that to the bank!!




just kiddin reeshy!

[johnniewalker]

thats comin from a real live zombie, so you can take that to the bank!!




just kiddin reeshy!

Ohhhh broooootal!!!

[IMSlacker]

Jeff, you should have your anti-zombie arguments printed on business cards so that you can just hand them to the zombies as they're breaking into your house. I'm sure they'll appreciated it.

[Ritalin]

As some of you may or may not know, one of the few Hollywood creations which genuinely creep the living shit out of me is Zombies.

Oh, yeah, sure. I knew. Everybody knows about you and zombies.

[reeshy]

Zombies are real ......they are banging on my door right now!!!!!

[AKA]

We love zombies because they are, by far, the best movie monster metaphors around. Ultimately, nothing scares us more than ourselves, and zombies are just us but with an appetite for flesh and brains and violent death.

"We have seen the enemy...and it is us."

The last time zombie movies were REALLY big was in the 1980s - and before that, the late 1960s and early 1970s. They "feed" into our "end of the world" anxiety - while it is easy to imagine that with the Vietnam era, a lot of people might not realize how tense it was in the 1980s for a time - how it was never a question on whether or not we were going into nuclear war but when . Art, movies, music all reflected this feeling that it was going to happen - zombie movies gave us an unrealistic release from "The Day After."

The recent trend in zombie movies started in 2002 (post 9/11 and right at the sart of the Iraq war) - I remember being astounded when I saw the complete swing into all things zombie back in the summer of 2004 at Horrorfind - "Zombies are the new vampires" I coined there and then (and later allowed others to borrow it). I should have trademarked it, tho.

[reeshy]

Ohhhh broooootal!!!

You laugh........the Zombies are here!!!!!

[Furtherman]

"Zombies are the new vampires"


I'll still take vampires over zombies anyday.

[MadMatt]

I'll still take vampires over zombies anyday.

Wait, please clarify that.

Are you saying that Vampires are easier to fight than Zombies or that they are more powerful than Zombies?

And for me it depends; are you fighting the Zombies one at a time or in a big group, because what Zombies lack in ability they make up for in resililence and copiousness.

Also, what age is the Vampire? An older or ancient Vampire is going to be a lot harder to kill than a "fresh" one that hasn't mastered it's abilities yet.

[torker]

Can a Scanner beat a zombie?
http://www.fast-rewind.com/scanners3.jpg

[Wallower]

What if zombies could be composed of massive amounts of "zombie microorganisms" spread entirely throughout the host? These microorganisms would need to evolve a hive mind with a low level self awareness to achieve movement, feeding, etc. Since there is no reason for it to take up residence in the skull, the cooperative consciousness would eliminate the popular head shot kill. The microorganisms could act as conduits to pass along electrical impulses, information, and nutrients throughout the body. It seems more likely that this type of zombie would be slow moving, and very slow to reanimate from the conversion process. This type of zombie would gradually consume the host body unless it was in contact with organic material that could sustain it.

There's one right behind you.

[Furtherman]

I'll still take vampires over zombies anyday.

Wait, please clarify that.

Are you saying that Vampires are easier to fight than Zombies or that they are more powerful than Zombies?


I meant that I like vampire movies better than zombie movies. They're not real!!


j/k

[DarkHippie]

Can a Scanner beat a zombie?
http://www.fast-rewind.com/scanners3.jpg

a scanner can just blow the zombies head up. Done.

[lleeder]

This theory seems entirely correct to me. My field study has found another fact amungst monsters "Wolfman Has Nards!!!!!!"

[TheMojoPin]

I meant that I like vampire movies better than zombie movies. They're not real!!


j/k

Though they are about a thousand times more gay.

[Fallon]

It's a trick!

Jeff's a zombie and doesn't want us to kill him.

[weezcase]

FMJeff, you points are very valid in our world, no question

the thing that makes zombies so great is that there is no cure because it is a supernatural phenomena, science can't explain the walking dead because they do not exist in science

to quote the preacher in the original Dawn of the Dead "When Hell Is Full, The Dead Shall Walk The Earth"

World War Z is a great book btw, check it out if you get the chance

[KennethC]

If zombies are biologically impossible, how do you explain the existence of Leonard Cohen?

[Recyclerz]

If zombies are biologically impossible, how do you explain the existence of Leonard Cohen?

Or the results of the 2004 Presidential Election?

[furie]

yeah, this rationale doesn't work with 28 days later. they're not dead, just infected with "rage"

[Midkiff]

Make no mistake, my friends, zombies are real! Fear for your life, Jeff!!!!!!

[MadMatt]

Make no mistake, my friends, zombies are real! Fear for your life, Jeff!!!!!!

Yes!!! They have been known to cancel thousands of subs on mere speculation!!!







j/k

Love 'ya Op, love 'ya Ant...

[Mike Teacher]

Can a Scanner beat a zombie?
http://www.fast-rewind.com/scanners3.jpg

Not sure but I'd like to see that flying sphere from 'Phantasm' vs. a Zombie.

[Mike Teacher]

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead

"Solanum"

The virus is said to be neither waterborne or airborne; the only way to become infected is through direct fluidic contact, in which context the virus is 100% communicable, with a 100% mortality rate. Although bites are most common, infection can be obtained through open wounds brushing against each other or being splattered with remains, usually after explosions.

How it works

Solanum is described as traveling through the bloodstream, from the initial point of entry to the brain, where it uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process. During this period, all bodily functions cease; by stopping the heart, the subject is rendered "dead." The brain remains alive, but dormant, while the virus mutates its cells into a completely new organ. The most critical trait of this new organ is its independence from oxygen. By removing the need for this all-important resource, the undead brain can utilize, but is no way dependent on, the complex support mechanism of the human body. Once this mutation is complete, this new organ reanimates the body into a form that bears little resemblance (physiologically speaking) to the original corpse. Some bodily functions remain constant, others operate in a modified capacity, and the remainder shut down completely. This new organism is a zombie, a member of the living dead.(In reality, the blood-brain barrier might prevent a bloodborne infection from reaching the frontal lobes.)


Hour 1: Pain and discoloration (brown-purple) of the infected area. Immediate clotting of the wound (provided the infection came from a wound).

Hour 5: Fever (99-103° F), chills, slight dementia, vomiting, acute pains in the joints.

Hour 8: Numbing of extremities and infected area, increased fever (103-106° F), increased dementia,loss of muscular coordination.

Hour 11: Paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness, slowed heart rate.

Hour 16: Coma

Hour 20: Heart stops. Zero brain activity.

Hour 23: Reanimation.

=

Weapons and Combat Techniques: Physical conditioning is heavily stressed. Suggestion for ideal personal armaments is an M1 Carbine semi-automatic rifle, a quality handgun with a mounted sight, and a machete. Shotguns and swords may also be used. Advise against fully automatic weapons because only one bullet is needed to bring down a zombie, and more than that would be a waste of ammunition.

[xample]

I don't have much to add to this..

but Dead Rising is a fucking awesome zombie game.

http://buttonmashing.com/wp-content/uploads/dead_rising.jpg

[PapaBear]

Not sure but I'd like to see that flying sphere from 'Phantasm' vs. a Zombie.
That fucking blade wielding shiny ball scared me more than almost any monster EVER!

[ToddEVF]

Zombies caused by disease/man-made means are badass. however, Voodoo Zombies are just one step cooler

[Skellington]

I don't have much to add to this..

but Dead Rising is a fucking awesome zombie game.

http://buttonmashing.com/wp-content/uploads/dead_rising.jpg

So is 'Stubbs the Zombie'

http://bonusweb.idnes.cz/obrazek/stubbsthezombietab.jpg

[Skellington]

Reanimation is completely possible and has already been performed on dogs and humans, esp. during the WWII era.....the issue was sustaining it.

[Crispy123]

The Zombie issue is one that has been intentionally clouded recently by the troubles in Mesopotamia. To analyze this issue appropriately we need to look back several decades to the Nazi regime of the 1930's and 40's. The "final solution" was preceded by mystical searches for artifacts of magical power, communication with Satan and the undead, reanimation of dead tissue, and various other experiments involving the limits of the human mind and body. Some of these experiments did provide fruit and there is evidence that was never brought to light for the purposes of the general public, but which only a handful of people are privy to, that points to success particularly in the area of communication with the dead and reanimation.

The Nazi experiments during WWII were overseen by demons and ghouls inhabiting human flesh at the direction of the dark lord Bealzebub. At the end of the War, with the collapse of Hitler and the SS, these documents were encoded in an unknown language and secreted into Israel. Right now, a team of Jewish scientists, unaware of who their masters are or where they got their information, are creating an army of the "living dead". Several warlords, priests, and Imams have been warned and are fermenting violence and hatred in an effort to wipe Israel of the map for this very reason.

The main crux of the reanimation issue is that all biological processes are fundamentally electrical pulses. No nourishment or chemical process is required other than changing heat to an electrical charge. Global Warming is no myth. It is a carefully orchestrated satanic vehicle for bringing about the end of the world. The details are fuzzy but the fact is the rising temperatures of the Earth are reanimation the dead. Armies of the zombies are being gathered in Iraq in an effort to spread terror and evil across this world and into the next. Hundreds of thousands of recently dead are walking around the Middle East and it is only a matter of time before they start to wash up on the shores of the East Coast of the United States of America.

Sadly I'm not the first one to have this information. There is right now a meeting called the G8 summit going on with the heads of the most wealthy nations, and Russia, negotiating with the Antichrist. The human race has already been sold out and Earth has been handed over. A missile defense scheme is the cover for a space launch of 10,000 people to try an inhabit another galaxy, leaving all those left on Earth to perish. Zombies will destroy everyone you know in the next 2-4 years and hell will reign for the next 1000 years until everything is consumed by the fire.

[Skellington]

reanimation experiment video

http://www.archive.org/details/Experime1940

[cupcakelove]

I just want to thank FMJeff and this thread for my the incredible lack of sleep I got last night. I spent all night debating if zombies are possible and if that shadow the that just moved across the wall was one.

[Dougie Brootal]

The Zombie issue is one that has been intentionally clouded recently by the troubles in Mesopotamia. To analyze this issue appropriately we need to look back several decades to the Nazi regime of the 1930's and 40's. The "final solution" was preceded by mystical searches for artifacts of magical power, communication with Satan and the undead, reanimation of dead tissue, and various other experiments involving the limits of the human mind and body. Some of these experiments did provide fruit and there is evidence that was never brought to light for the purposes of the general public, but which only a handful of people are privy to, that points to success particularly in the area of communication with the dead and reanimation.

The Nazi experiments during WWII were overseen by demons and ghouls inhabiting human flesh at the direction of the dark lord Bealzebub. At the end of the War, with the collapse of Hitler and the SS, these documents were encoded in an unknown language and secreted into Israel. Right now, a team of Jewish scientists, unaware of who their masters are or where they got their information, are creating an army of the "living dead". Several warlords, priests, and Imams have been warned and are fermenting violence and hatred in an effort to wipe Israel of the map for this very reason.

The main crux of the reanimation issue is that all biological processes are fundamentally electrical pulses. No nourishment or chemical process is required other than changing heat to an electrical charge. Global Warming is no myth. It is a carefully orchestrated satanic vehicle for bringing about the end of the world. The details are fuzzy but the fact is the rising temperatures of the Earth are reanimation the dead. Armies of the zombies are being gathered in Iraq in an effort to spread terror and evil across this world and into the next. Hundreds of thousands of recently dead are walking around the Middle East and it is only a matter of time before they start to wash up on the shores of the East Coast of the United States of America.

Sadly I'm not the first one to have this information. There is right now a meeting called the G8 summit going on with the heads of the most wealthy nations, and Russia, negotiating with the Antichrist. The human race has already been sold out and Earth has been handed over. A missile defense scheme is the cover for a space launch of 10,000 people to try an inhabit another galaxy, leaving all those left on Earth to perish. Zombies will destroy everyone you know in the next 2-4 years and hell will reign for the next 1000 years until everything is consumed by the fire.

well, i for one, can't wait!

[Midkiff]

reanimation experiment video

http://www.archive.org/details/Experime1940

Holy shitburgers... that video get REALLY freaky at about 6:30.... wow.

[Chigworthy]

Zombie-vampires?
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YVX1FWK1L._AA240_.jpg

p.s: I just noticed that Will Smith will play Neville in a new movie version of this classic novel. Also, the director has made videos for Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and Green Day. Christ, I am so close to moving to a cabin in Alaska.

[MadMatt]

reanimation experiment video

http://www.archive.org/details/Experime1940

OK - Is this video for real or a hoax?

If it is real, Holy S@#$! Keeping just the HEAD of a dog alive? WTF?!?!?!?!

[angrymissy]

I've got the World War Z audiobook on my ipod

I think maybe I will play it while jeff sleeps

[Furtherman]

Zombie-vampires?
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YVX1FWK1L._AA240_.jpg

p.s: I just noticed that Will Smith will play Neville in a new movie version of this classic novel. .

That movie might be in the can by now. They were filiming it in New York over the winter.

[JustJon]

Zombie-vampires?
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YVX1FWK1L._AA240_.jpg

p.s: I just noticed that Will Smith will play Neville in a new movie version of this classic novel. Also, the director has made videos for Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and Green Day. Christ, I am so close to moving to a cabin in Alaska.

Schwartzeneger and Ridley Scott were attached to this project forever, until they finally left and the version with Will Smith was done. I think I would have rather seen the Scott version.

[MadMatt]

Zombie-vampires?
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YVX1FWK1L._AA240_.jpg

p.s: I just noticed that Will Smith will play Neville in a new movie version of this classic novel. Also, the director has made videos for Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and Green Day. Christ, I am so close to moving to a cabin in Alaska.

Isn't that the book that "The Omega Man" was based on?

How much better is the book than the movie?

[TheMojoPin]

OK - Is this video for real or a hoax?

If it is real, Holy S@#$! Keeping just the HEAD of a dog alive? WTF?!?!?!?!

Awwwww, yeah, this mean we can have Nixon's head in a jar!

http://elkindjal.free.fr/futurama/personnages/richard%20nixon.jpg

[ChimneyFish]

Awwwww, yeah, this mean we can have Nixon's head in a jar!

http://elkindjal.free.fr/futurama/personnages/richard%20nixon.jpg

I know I would vote for Nixon's reanimated head.

[BIGASS307Buddays]

I know that Zombie Randy would love the taste of brains

[patsopinion]

if it was biologically possible now then we could stop it now, before the problem happens

with the gene working going on in the us the zombies are comming
and we will not know how to undo it

[Crispy123]

Awwwww, yeah, this mean we can have Nixon's head in a jar!

I know I would vote for Nixon's reanimated head.

http://lh6.google.com/image/chrisp.w3/RmeKjdb57mI/AAAAAAAAACs/zbwnRqhJOr0/nixon%20head_zombies.jpg?imgmax=512





me too

[Death Metal Moe]

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050708/050708_foxworth_vmed.widec.jpg

If your idea of a great 1st date is going do to the Wal Mart to eat some brains.....

then you might be a Redneck Zombie.

[weekapaugjz]

Awwwww, yeah, this mean we can have Nixon's head in a jar!

http://elkindjal.free.fr/futurama/personnages/richard%20nixon.jpg

ha! this was the episode on adult swim tonight. oh man, do i love futurama.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

I just want to thank everyone posting in this thread, FMJeff and Mike the Teacher especially, for now I'm zombie-obsessed and bought World War Z last night. So far, so great.

[Dougie Brootal]

I just want to thank everyone posting in this thread, FMJeff and Mike the Teacher especially, for now I'm zombie-obsessed and bought World War Z last night. So far, so great.

im completely obsessed now. i ordered both books yesterday.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Don't forget The Walking Dead fellas! Great series. I think Issue #38 came out. Trade Paperback volume #6 came out too.

[MrPink]

Thanks to this thread, I had wonderful zombie dreams last night. You say that zombies are biologically impossible, but scientists thought the same thing aboot the plant life living under the ice in Antarctica. Zombies are coming, I've got my guns n ammo so I'm ready. Are you??:smoke:

[ToddEVF]

i'm with mrpink on this one. let me check the list. SPAS 12 gauge. repeater rifle. .44 Magnum. i can be here for a while

[TheMojoPin]

I just want to thank everyone posting in this thread, FMJeff and Mike the Teacher especially, for now I'm zombie-obsessed and bought World War Z last night. So far, so great.

Nobody reads my fuckin' posts.

[MadMatt]

Has anybody seen Mojo around lately?

I'm starting to think HE was eaten by Zombies...
















:happy:

[FMJeff]

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead

"Solanum"

The virus is said to be neither waterborne or airborne; the only way to become infected is through direct fluidic contact, in which context the virus is 100% communicable, with a 100% mortality rate. Although bites are most common, infection can be obtained through open wounds brushing against each other or being splattered with remains, usually after explosions.

How it works

Solanum is described as traveling through the bloodstream, from the initial point of entry to the brain, where it uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process. During this period, all bodily functions cease; by stopping the heart, the subject is rendered "dead." The brain remains alive, but dormant, while the virus mutates its cells into a completely new organ. The most critical trait of this new organ is its independence from oxygen. By removing the need for this all-important resource, the undead brain can utilize, but is no way dependent on, the complex support mechanism of the human body. Once this mutation is complete, this new organ reanimates the body into a form that bears little resemblance (physiologically speaking) to the original corpse. Some bodily functions remain constant, others operate in a modified capacity, and the remainder shut down completely. This new organism is a zombie, a member of the living dead.(In reality, the blood-brain barrier might prevent a bloodborne infection from reaching the frontal lobes.)


Well I have a couple of questions. If the new organ is completely independent of oxygen, what fuel is it converting to power itself?

From WikiPedia
When ATP is used in DNA synthesis, the ribose sugar is first converted to deoxyribose by ribonucleotide reductase. Ribose forms a five-member ring composed of four carbon atoms and one oxygen. Hydroxyl groups are attached to three of the carbons. The other carbon and a hydroxyl group are attached to one of the carbon atoms adjacent to the oxygen. In deoxyribose, the carbon furthest from the attached carbon is stripped of the oxygen atom in what would be a hydroxyl group in ribose. Due to the common C3 and C4 stereochemistry of D-ribose and D-arabinose, D-2-deoxyribose is also D-2-deoxyarabinose.

In other words, the building blocks of energy synthesis either through photosynthesis (in plants) or cellular respiration (in organisms) requires oxygen of some kind. This is true of pretty much all life on the planet except for deep sea organisms that exist in an environment devoid of life. However, in those cases, the organisms have specialized bacteria that synthesize sea bed gases (I believe sulfur.)

I bet when all is said and done, there is no way this can possibly happen as described above. There may very well be viruses causing diseases that can modify the way an organ functions (well there is, cancer for one), but it still has to work within the boundaries of chemistry and physics.

[Dougie Brootal]

Well I have a couple of questions. If the new organ is completely independent of oxygen, what fuel is it converting to power itself?

From WikiPedia
When ATP is used in DNA synthesis, the ribose sugar is first converted to deoxyribose by ribonucleotide reductase. Ribose forms a five-member ring composed of four carbon atoms and one oxygen. Hydroxyl groups are attached to three of the carbons. The other carbon and a hydroxyl group are attached to one of the carbon atoms adjacent to the oxygen. In deoxyribose, the carbon furthest from the attached carbon is stripped of the oxygen atom in what would be a hydroxyl group in ribose. Due to the common C3 and C4 stereochemistry of D-ribose and D-arabinose, D-2-deoxyribose is also D-2-deoxyarabinose.

In other words, the building blocks of energy synthesis either through photosynthesis (in plants) or cellular respiration (in organisms) requires oxygen of some kind. This is true of pretty much all life on the planet except for deep sea organisms that exist in an environment devoid of life. However, in those cases, the organisms have specialized bacteria that synthesize sea bed gases (I believe sulfur.)

I bet when all is said and done, there is no way this can possibly happen as described above. There may very well be viruses causing diseases that can modify the way an organ functions (well there is, cancer for one), but it still has to work within the boundaries of chemistry and physics.

whatever you gotta tell yourself to believe you are living in a zombie-free world. and another thing is that with all of theOHMYGODLOOKOUTTHERESZOMBIESBEHINDYOU!!!!!!!

[MadMatt]

Well I have a couple of questions. If the new organ is completely independent of oxygen, what fuel is it converting to power itself?

From WikiPedia
When ATP is used in DNA synthesis, the ribose sugar is first converted to deoxyribose by ribonucleotide reductase. Ribose forms a five-member ring composed of four carbon atoms and one oxygen. Hydroxyl groups are attached to three of the carbons. The other carbon and a hydroxyl group are attached to one of the carbon atoms adjacent to the oxygen. In deoxyribose, the carbon furthest from the attached carbon is stripped of the oxygen atom in what would be a hydroxyl group in ribose. Due to the common C3 and C4 stereochemistry of D-ribose and D-arabinose, D-2-deoxyribose is also D-2-deoxyarabinose.

In other words, the building blocks of energy synthesis either through photosynthesis (in plants) or cellular respiration (in organisms) requires oxygen of some kind. This is true of pretty much all life on the planet except for deep sea organisms that exist in an environment devoid of life. However, in those cases, the organisms have specialized bacteria that synthesize sea bed gases (I believe sulfur.)

I bet when all is said and done, there is no way this can possibly happen as described above. There may very well be viruses causing diseases that can modify the way an organ functions (well there is, cancer for one), but it still has to work within the boundaries of chemistry and physics.

Who says it has to operate like any organ we have seen? If the virus is extraterrestrial in origin, it could do almost anything. For example, it could be silica based and work unlike anything we have seen in carbon-based organisms.

[Recyclerz]

From an article in The New Republic Online wherein a journalist is recounting a ridealong with US troops in Baghdad at night.

Before anyone could respond, the lead vehicle came back up over the net. The dogs were eating a human body. More precisely, they were eating out of a human body. Apparently, they were only eating the brain.

It's a pay site so I can't link to it but if anybody wants to read the whole articlelet me know & I'll send you a cut and paste version.

[torker]

Apparently, they were only eating the brain.

What's in your head, in your head?
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/returndead/returndead4.jpg
Zombie, zombie, zombie

[Servo]

What's in your head, in your head?
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/returndead/returndead4.jpg
Zombie, zombie, zombie

How can the undead have such pearly-white teeth?

[MadMatt]

How can the undead have such pearly-white teeth?

Brains are a natural whitening agent.

[Mike Teacher]

Isn't that the book that "The Omega Man" was based on?

How much better is the book than the movie?

Ya; I'm pretty sure Mattheson's I Am Legens was the basis for...

Vincent Price in 'The Last Man on Earth' and Chucky in 'The Omega Man'

Last Man on Earth has aged better then The Omega Man which, like most 70s movies; is very 70s-ish; but as a kid watching the Omega Man scared me into Danny Torrance like shivers. Hits you over the head a bit with the preaching. Great opening sequence though; awesome.

=

On keeping things alive like heads and stuff; ethics aside [thats a biggie for some species] it's not that difficult to keep most organs, organ systems, and even heads alive; it's the quality of said life that's the debate. Ive seen the experiments with freezing and like most things, the more complex the species the more problems present themselves; freezing is goos but nasty on cells.

=

Q: If the new organ is completely independent of oxygen, what fuel is it converting to power itself?

A: Box Office Returns

[weezcase]

Who says it has to operate like any organ we have seen? If the virus is extraterrestrial in origin, it could do almost anything. For example, it could be silica based and work unlike anything we have seen in carbon-based organisms.

virus?!? i understand that we have some crazy science, but the only true explanation for zombies is the supernatural or spiritual, no science can explain the length of time the undead stay alive or how their bodies keep going, ever wonder why they don't starve when there is nothing to eat?







it's cus jesus wants them too

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

I've been Zombie free for over 10 years because of Otis:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k203/petrina_02/Otizzle.jpg?t=1181285207

Everyday, before I leave my apartment, I tell Otis to look out for the following:

pirates
huns
vampires
ZOMBIES
Jehovah's Witnesses
hippies
land sharks

And we can all agree that TERRORISTS all fall into the above categories.

I sleep well at night.