It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Kevin Loria. Researchers have modeled how a zombie outbreak would spread across the US. Big cities would be particularly dangerous places to be at the start; isolated regions in the mountains would be relatively safe. These sorts of models are the same ones that researchers use to understand real diseases. Sign up for notifications from Insider!
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There has to be some mechanism for transmitting neural impulses from the brain to various body parts, and for providing energy to muscles so they can keep operating. The most common science fictional explanation for zombie outbreaks is a virus — but viruses and bacterial infections are not known for building large new physical structures within the body.
So let's count viruses out. Instead, the need for a mechanism to activate deteriorating body parts actually provides the cornerstone of what is, in my opinion, the strongest theory: fungal infection. We know that fungi can infect humans.
We also know that fungal networks exist in most of the world's forests. These mycorrhizal networks have a symbiotic relationship with trees and other plants in the forest, exchanging nutrients for mutual benefit. These networks can be quite large, and there are studies that demonstrate the potential for chemical signals to be transmitted from one plant to another via the mycorrhizal network.
That, in turn, means that fungal filaments could perform both vascular and neural functions within a corpse. 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. 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. Chemicals released by the fungi activate basic responses within these brain areas.
This signal method is slow and imperfect, which results in the uncoordinated movements of zombies. And this reliance on the host's brain accounts for the "headshot" phenomenon, in which grievous wounds to the brain or spine seem to render zombies fully inert. If a Walking Dead -style zombie outbreak ever swept across the United States, your best bet would be to head for the northern Rockies. After reading World War Z , the group wanted to figure out how a real-life zombie apocalypse might play out in the United States.
So they did the natural thing and modeled it. They've even created a zombie simulator that lets you see for yourself how the invasion would spread, based on different assumptions. Try it! And those red splotches kept growing… and growing…. The undead hadn't yet made it to Chicago or Florida. Maybe if they had been faster, it would've all been different The zombie simulator is based on a real-life disease model known as SIR which stands for "susceptible, infected, and resistant".
The researchers developed simulations based on variables like how fast zombies move, how often humans kill them, and how often bites occur.
The simulator allows you to control various factors, like the "bite-to-kill" ratio — a measure of how likely zombies are to bite humans versus how likely humans are to kill zombies. The researchers told Jacob Aron of New Scientist that an 0.
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