A REAL ZOMBIE THREAT
Being a zombie is pretty much like being mentally retarded... but the only difference is your well you know... eating people....
well being a zombie is pretty much you can remember your past life.What if a brain surgeon took that part of the brain out.. along with reasonable thinking. then we got our selves a zombie. Or they can create a protein that attacks that part of the brain and can be spreadable the way the flu can be spread.... so the threat of zombies attacking are real for sure. anyways. The protein can decay that part of the brain... BUT it HAS to be an genetically deformed virus to do the job.
so me knowing this kinda freaks me out.

There have been multiple origins speculated about over where the zombie comes from. If looked at scientifically these zombies show up with some very different results.

Virus: Due to the fact that viruses cannot be cured, except through antibodies, a cure would be difficult to come by in this instance. A virus lives in the spinal cord in most cases (however it can also survive in the brain, which explains the "destroy the brain" theory).
Problems with this theory is the fact that viruses can mutate into better strains which would suggest that if there was a virus that could mutate that could retain some of the host original skills such as basic motor skills and simple logic. If this were the case then a simple increase in basic skills could lead to an improved evasion/invasion of zombies.

*Has everyone seen this new research? Sounds like the next step toward an accidental zombie virus to me: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/10/virus-brain-cancer-02.html
-Tebben
-----Doxkid: who ever this person is, they fail high school biology forever. Viruses live EVERYWHERE in the body and can be could in almost ALL CELLS. That's right. You know blood tests? Those are checking the DNA added to our body after birth (Viruses inject new info into our cells, forcing them to accept the virus' info as your DNA. It spreads easily, since one cell can produce millions of viruses, but fortunately, most of the more destructive ones our body actually fights. it might not win, but that's better than nothing.) While viruses do, in many cases, mutate from parent to offspring (They purposefully add mistakes to their own DNA like info before it is injected, so moma virus a can produce the whole damn alphabet since the cell has to decode the new DNA before it uses it) it can and will mutate, but this isn't a completely change so we CAN guess what it will be next and produce things to combat that group.

It would not change motor skills, or anything similar to that, without damaging the organ that controls it and even then, chances are it isn't the virus that is messing around with your motor skills, you are. Your body, trying to save you, attacks the infected area and may seriously mess things up while it does so.

------Thrawn5: the common name for the virus is "Selanum" (I believe, I am not sure if that is how it spelled though, someone correct me if I am wrong), it disables all thought functions, all need for food, oxygen, water, and sleep (it basically creates a superhuman without being truly human) something about this virus, it DOES NOT CREATE LIFE FROM A DEAD PERSON, IT IS ONLY TRANSMISSIBLE TO A LIVING PERSON FROM AN INFECTED PIECE OF LIVING (COMMONLY CONSIDERED UN LIVING) ORGANIC ANIMAL MATTER, it only alters life, not create it.

------Merfnad: "Solanum" is the virus in Max Brook's Zombie Survival guide. As said earlier a virus can live in anywhere in humans, and cause almost any effects depending on what part of the body the virus attacks. For example rabies is a form of encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) that can make humans aggressive and also, if it attacks the central nervous system first, it can make the body send out extra impulses to the muscles increasing their strength, which could explain why zombies are so strong and why the have bad coordination (source: Swedish Wikipedia).

Bacterium: Bacterium is a lesser from of germ compared to the virus. Bacterium can multiply rapidly, though, and thus would create tougher zombies, possibly immune to head-shots. This bacterium could also be spread through close contact; e.g., breathing close to a zombie of this nature. Bacterium are also killed quickly in strong sunlight. If the Bacterium is the source of the zombies strength, as seems likely then during the day, zombies would be weak, slow shambling creatures. However, in the dark they may be faster, stronger a and more malicious threat.
Problems from the bacterium theory stem from the fact that bacteria are more likely to go cross species, therefore not only would humans be affected but the whole animal kingdom.

-------Doxkid: ya...assuming you are only talking about those that have noticeable effects on us, they would not make any part of the body more resilient. It might produce toxins in you that make you unable to feel pain, or maybe mess you up so your brain doesn't function as well as normally, or even mess with one specific organ or cell type, but they would not make you invulnerable. Most bacterium are spread by fluid communication, ie- a bug walk on your cut, then lands on someone's sandwich would be possible, but they aren't simply flung from the body as we breath. Many of these little creatures are actually photosynthesizers and still consumers. if you don't understand, that means that it is like a mini plant that can eat other bacteria and cells. Sunlight would, in almost any case, make it STRONGER!!! it would be able to steal resources from us and give us resources back, possibly removing the need to breath if they spread enough. problem is, if they are able to effect organs and there are enough to give us this effect, chances are you are dead already. and, as long as no one tried to eat you, they die too. There are probably more out there, in every drop of blood and speck of saliva you dropped, but unless your body achieves direct contact with something, there is nothing to worry about.
-----Ifer: Breathing out sends minuscule particles of matter flying through the air. If this were not the case, we would be unable to smell bad breath. These particles may be liquid or gaseous; both of which are technically fluids. They may be made primarily of saliva or mucous, both of which contain bacteria.



Magic: Hey, it could happen. If one were to give their computer monitor a funny look upon reading this, one might ask the Egyptian embalming priests, who 3000 years ago experimented with and wrote about the idea of the undead; the Nordic scribes who alleged the existence of Draugrs, warriors risen from the grave; Celtic Druids with similar beliefs; the Haitian voodoo priestesses who coined the term 'zombie' in the first place; and a dude named Harry Potter who could definitely back me up on this.
Problems with this theory are obvious; faith in the supernatural.


Chemical Agent/ Experiment gone awry:This is conceivable, but generally unlikely as a cause. As this is not a virus, it might not necessary to shoot them in the head to kill them.

Drugs: Diet Pills could become so effective that the fat is totally depleted in a zombies body making it attack humans to get the fat back. The brain would be the highest concentration of fats and proteins.
Drugs can damage the brain to the point of making the user a zombie. Inhalants are notorious for this.
Perhaps when a person dies a combination of drugs and chemicals cause him to come back as a zombie. Look at the things you do in a single day; energy drinks, cleaning chemicals, that air fresh spray that contaminates the air you breath, and that's just what we know of.Just look at the preservatives, additives in our food, and drink. Growth hormones in the meat and fertilizers for plants.

Celestial Events: The radiation brought to EarthI by a celestial body could have an effect on deceased human brains and cause them to shamble about in search of human flesh. Thousands of small meteorites from mars or elsewhere could burn up in the atmosphere releasing gas in small but effective areas, such as cemeteries.The gas might be primarily composed of radioactive powder mixing with the soil in which the people/zombies are buried.


Dark Energy (Ki): According to HinduYogic theories of the body, each person contains a subtle body that is connected to the physical body via the chakras. This subtle body communicates through the physical with prāņa, or life energy. As these theories of the body made their way northward, they were adopted by the Chinese and worked into their sophisticated theories of medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, etc. The term prāņa was replaced with Qi or Chi, or Ki in Japan. This Ki energy is the animating energy of the cosmos. Without it, life cannot exist. It stands to reason then that there may exist a negative or dark form of life energy, perhaps "un-life energy" that also permeates this universe, but is absent from our world. If a wave of this energy were to some how pass through our world, recently deceased beings may be given a second life. This would not be a second chance to love and think as humans do, but the antithesis; a cruel passion driven lust for destruction and the extinction of life. They would in turn feed upon only human bodies as only humans have the human Ki that they crave. As long as a deceased creature’s physical body was intact and their spinal column (Sushumnā Nādī) was in one piece, Dark Ki could perversely reanimate it.


Parasites: Parasites causing the host to behave like zombies until the parasite is completely developed. There are two types of parasite-based zombies: Controlled or Infectious. The Controlled variant cannot pass the parasite on, unless it is injected directly into the host. The Infectious variant is just like a virus-based zombie, except it passes on a parasite, instead of a virus.
------Doxkid: there aren't many that can highjack an animal as complex as us. Not, i said highjack, not infect. It might even be able to kill us, but it simply wont have the intelligence to use our brains and spinal cord like we do-"Look out! A semi-conscious, twitching guy is becoming a zombie! everyone! Please step around him and do not place any body parts in that gaping would or in his mouth. If he twitches enough, his jaws might wriggle and knick you!"
------Ifer: Actually Doxkid, here you're mistaken. I believe you are misunderstanding how the hijack would occur. Instead of thinking that the parasite would attempt to use the person as a living bodysuit, consider the effects that simple behaviour modification could have. The host would retain its abilities to move and such, but would be driven to do one thing: bite people.
There are already some parasites that quite effectively alter the behavior of the given animal. One attacks ants, causing them to abandon their normal duties and climb to the top of flowers and grass when a grazing animal is near. The grazing animal then inadvertantly eats the waiting ants, allowing the parasite to continue its life cycle. A similar parasite infecting snails forces its host move out into the open then pushes itself into the host's eyestalks, making them swollen and pulsing. The eyestalks act as targets for nearby birds. Another makes mice unafraid and even attracted to areas containing cat urine.
It's not unthinkable that a parasite could develop in humans that attempts to propegate without killing it's host.


Utter Boredom: Eventually, scientists will prove that when you are severely bored, your brain reverts to the most basic of functions and eventually seeks to devour all remnants of human brains.


Consuming Cloned Animal Meat : The FDA reported that the offspring of cloned animals are safe for consumption. While news outlets respond with concern about long-term effects, it could be what brings about the zombie apocalypse. The regeneration of life has long been attributed to genetic manipulation, and studies have shown that cloned materials have weakened immunities, and would not be able to withstand a viral onslaught. This genetic mutation and resulting byproducts can easily become the source of infection.
---Doxkid: Clones are only genetic copies. No memory cloning, or anything like that. We aren't regenerating life, just creating copies of already existing life. True, clones have shorter lifespans and may die due to disease early, but that is mostly because the cell the clone is copied from is always old. You don't add years, no matter what procedure or process you use. Thus, my sixteen year old body cells produce a child that is genetically sixteen at the developmental age of 1. When i die of old age at ninety, the new kid will die at (Probably) seventy four. and that is if i don't have any genetic disorders that i don't notice. things like that don't really clone well.

Radiation: Some people believe that a body with exposure to radiation could cause a person to enter a phase of rapid mutation that looks like a regular illness, but actually the body has been contaminated, and if it gets into the bloodstream, the heart will be doing the rest, pumping it through the body, spreading until it hits the brain, this time may vary, explaining why some people become zombies sooner than others, as well as why some zombies are faster or smarter than others, once the radiation gets to the brain, it causes a major difference in thought and action, so extreme it causes the body to shut down completely, after about 1 to 10 hours probably, the body's thought and survival needs have changed, similar to a rapid evolution, and the person awakens, and they can get the meat and fluids now needed to survive from human flesh. Like so many people love steak, the zombies love the brain, and search for it, attacking animals as a last resort. Sometimes a zombie will only bite a person, and realize that the person "tastes" odd, as many people do, mostly people exposed to large amounts of smoke or other forms of air pollution. This bite contains a poison, formed by the radiation, that causes the mutation to begin inside another person, and the original zombie continues looking for a new meal.

Mental Strain: It was suggested in World War Z by Max Brooks that in an undead world certain humans could not stand the mental strain of the undead bearing down on them 24/7 and these certain humans began to copy the actions of the zombie. It is easy to tell these humans apart from a real zombie such as the eye test were you shine a bright light into the eye of the suspected zombie and if they blink they are human. This is easier to do at night. They show no skin decay and they give off body heat.

Nanobots: Scenario- designed to protect humans from injury and disease, however what happens if the host dies. The nanobots would try to survive, keep the host animated until they could pass theirselfs off to a new host. byates
See also:

• Deteriorating tissue impacts
• First Signs of a zombie bite
• First signs of a zombie outbreak
  
• Why hunt the living?
• Motor Skills
• Nonhuman Infection
• Possibility of "recovery"
• Psychological effects on the living Experimentation
• Origin of the Zombie
• 
  
• How a zombie virus could arise
  
• Celestial Events

There is a real, and legitimate, danger that a ‘zombie virus’ could actually happen (however remote).
In his NON-FICTION book “The Hot Zone, Richard PRESTON tells us of an outbreak of Ebola Zaire in Washington DC.
Essentially, it’s so virulent that whereas most viruses and bacterium try to force red blood cells to manufacture more of themselves, and some even attack more solid internal organs (causing hemorrhaging and other issues), the E. Zaire virus literally slimes out it’s victims; It doesn’t try to get the cells to manufacture the virus, IT TRIES TO TURN THE CELLS INTO E ZAIRE.
As the victim slowly (over a week to a month) succumbs to the disease, it creates mental confusion; The first ever identified Human victim (his name was withheld), who actually touched that part of nature where the virus lives naturally, and therefore is annoying but harmless (identified as possibly a cave in Mt. Kilimanjaro), was reported to have actually bit a nurse who tried to treat him (the nurse, the doctor, and another nurse all died later of the disease).
A mutation, whether naturally occurring (as will happen, from time to time, though will typically die out quickly) or artificial (whether as part of a legitimate research project for a cure gone awry, to a heartless, profit-motivated attempt to develop some new ‘wonderdrug’ to cure cancer, prolong life, reverse aging, and all that other good shit, or as a systemic attempt to develop a biological weapon, with an aim to commit acts of terrorism), could very specifically create these exact conditions.
You should therefore, be wary and take this seriously. (But not that seriously, because if it does happen, we’re all gonna die anyways.)

IFB254- I am a proponent of the Ebola-Rabies theory, where either virus will naturally mutate to encompass traits of the other. And, given what is described above, that is not to far of a possibility. Also, the unstable nature of the many rogue states in the world who have in their possession biological weapons laboratories and already man-mutated viruses, you create a recipe for disaster.

Apocalyptic-Bob - One thing that I would be curious about, that I havn't seen yet, would be information on the rate of change once infected. Would I turn into a zombie weeks later, like in the orriginal Dawn of the Dead, or mere seconds, like in 28 Days Later (I know they aren't really zombies, but still). How much would that foil people's plans? Not knowing about the infection of some of the people until sometime the next season, or having a full outbreak overnight. Worth looking into.