45 Matching Annotations
  1. Dec 2015
    1. Since heat speeds the growth of bacteria (which are plenty happy to start feasting on you once your immune system is no longer a concern) the zombie's got a looming expiration date the very second it turns.

      In order for zombies to reign terror on humanity even for a short time, they have to be alive to keep from literally exploding from the heat.

    1. Not a single one of them requires the infected to get within biting distance to spread their infection

      This is a good point. It is much harder to spread a disease when its not airborne

  2. Nov 2015
    1. This is most easily explained by the zombies' constant, endless drive to devour meat.

      Can this also explain why zombies in movies and shows tend to become slower when deprived of "food" for too long?

    2. Part of the fungal network grows within the brain, where it interfaces with the medulla and cerebellum, as well as parts of the brain involving vision, hearing and possibly scent

      This would explain what the infection has to do with the brain

    3. This leads us to the following scenario: microscopic spores are inhaled, ingested, or transmitted via zombie bite. The spores are eventually dispersed throughout the body via the bloodstream. Then they lie dormant. When the host dies, chemical signals (or, more accurately, the absence of chemical signals) within the body that occur upon death trigger the spores to activate, and begin growing. The ensuing fungal network carries nutrients to muscles in the absence of respiration or normal metabolism.

      This is a good argument against my claim that zombies have to have a beating heart to function; the body survives on the fungus

    1. concerns of suicidal behavior often increase with midterm and finals.

      My friends and I got together over the weekend and the ones who go away to college were telling us about all the stories of suicide attempts at their schools recently because of the stress of finals.

    1. First, is that the zombie virus slows decomposition by providing cells with some nutrients. Second, is that the immune system, at least a crippled version, still functions to slow human bacterial flora from consuming their host. Third, it could be presumed that while some cell division continues, repairs and restoration are lost. Fourth, the virus would likely only preserve essential functions, allowing irrelevant parts of the body, such as skin, secondary musculature, and some organs to decay. Finally, we can presume the virus itself must consume flesh to some degree, rendering the zombie’s metabolic processes incredibly inefficient and explaining the insatiability of a zombie

      So, wouldn't it make sense to say that the body isn't entirely dead? The body has to function in order to do all these things which usually links back to blood flow and a beating heart.

    1. They can goad people toward violence

      Often when people are scared they will act out. It's like a defense mechanism and the chief should have thought of this.

    2. Doctors and scientists were once also considered to be corrupt snake oil salesman

      I used to volunteer at Midway Village and this was one of the things I learned about doctors back then. Sometimes these consisted of no more than random oils and salts. It was all a mental belief that you were feeling better after taking it.

    1. Three lawyers agreed to represent the church members for free

      That just shows how there are people who think this is wrong on a serious level. Free lawyers? That's a big deal.

    2. He cannot speak English,” she said. “He didn’t understand what the police said.”

      Isn't a translator supposed to be provided before the police can do anything?

    3. trash on the floor of a vehicle, abundant energy drinks or air fresheners hanging from rearview mirrors.

      Again, why? This describes so many friend's and family member's cars I've been in.

    4. There is no question that state and federal forfeiture programs have crippled powerful drug-trafficking organizations, thwarted an assortment of criminals and brought millions of dollars to financially stressed police departments.

      Sure but in the meantime there are also stories like those above. That doesn't make everything totally right in my opinion.

    5. A 55-year-old Chinese American restaurateur from Georgia was pulled over for minor speeding on Interstate 10 in Alabama and detained for nearly two hours. He was carrying $75,000 raised from relatives to buy a Chinese restaurant in Lake Charles, La. He got back his money 10 months later but only after spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer and losing out on the restaurant deal. A 40-year-old Hispanic carpenter from New Jersey was stopped on Interstate 95 in Virginia for having tinted windows. Police said he appeared nervous and consented to a search. They took $18,000 that he said was meant to buy a used car. He had to hire a lawyer to get back his money. Mandrel Stuart, a 35-year-old African American owner of a small barbecue restaurant in Staunton, Va., was stunned when police took $17,550 from him during a stop in 2012 for a minor traffic infraction on Interstate 66 in Fairfax. He rejected a settlement with the government for half of his money and demanded a jury trial. He eventually got his money back but lost his business because he didn’t have the cash to pay his overhead

      This all makes me feel disgusted especially with how long it took for these people to get their money back.

    6. suspicious people, drugs and other contraband

      What qualifies as suspicious? Are there specific outlines they have to follow in deeming someone suspicious?

    1. behavior-controlling chemicals when encountering the brain of its natural target host, but not when infecting other ant species, a new study shows.

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a miniscule scale, but have the possibility of becoming the real deal. This is interesting how it effects everything except the original ant.

    2. The researchers next removed ant brains, keeping the organs alive in special media. The fungus then was grown in the presence of brains from different ant species to determine what chemicals it produced for each brain.

      The ant body can survive without a brain??

    1. infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a minuscule scale, but have the possibility of becoming the real thing.This is how rabies is connected to the brain.

    1. genes that share similar or same disease phenotypes tend to encode proteins that interact with each other

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a minuscule scale, but have the possibility of becoming the real deal. Does this mean that a disease like rabies could only be combined with certain diseases? This would make the possibility of a zombie apocalypse even slimmer.

  3. Oct 2015
    1. Despite its age, it had just over 3,000 miles on it, brightening its appeal.

      This sort of adds to the loneliness of George Bell. With so little miles it states that he didn't really have anywhere to go.

    1. Likewise, it's scientifically unheard of for two radically different viruses such as rabies and influenza to borrow traits, he said.

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a miniscule scale, but have the possibility of becoming the real deal. So there is no fear of this freakishly happening in nature, it would have to be chemically engineered.

    2. Combine rabies with the ability of a flu virus to spread quickly through the air, and you might have the makings of a zombie apocalypse

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a miniscule scale, but have the possibility of becoming the real deal. Now that is scary.

    3. For instance, rabies—a viral disease that infects the central nervous system—can drive people to be violently mad, according to Samita Andreansky, a virologist at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in Florida who also appears in the documentary.

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a miniscule scale, but have the possibility of becoming the real deal. Several sources point at rabies as the biggest threat to humanity for a zombie virus hybrid disease.

    1. With the use of multidrug therapy, WHO eliminated leprosy in the year 2000 and almost 16 million patients have been cured over the past 20 years. In fact, 95% of the global population is now naturally immune to leprosy

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a miniscule scale, but have the possibility of becoming the real deal.Even though it is perpetually eradicated, the virus can be used to link with another for a biological weapon

    2. Ten days after the onset of initial symptoms, rabid patients usually develop zombie-like aggressive behaviors such as biting and thrashing, delusions, hallucinations, excessive salivation, high fever and excessive sweating

      Today's horror films on zombies are already real on a miniscule scale, but have the possibility to become the real deal.This helps to support my claim that zombie like diseases already exist. These symptoms are similar to what we see in some zombie movies.