Because of some New Age theories on the end of the world, some believe that a shift in the magnetic poles will bring the world to an end on Dec. 21, nine days from now. With the fear of an apocalypse, society and the media have portrayed a possibility of a zombie apocalypse. There have been theories that have been said to be true, but some of those are scientifically impossible.

Neurotoxins
Neurotoxins have become a popular theory in support of why a zombie outbreak could take place. However, according to FHN Biology Teacher Laura Montgomery, neurotoxins would never be able to result in zombification because they would not account for the craving of brain tissue and decay. After a person was revived from the trance-like state, they would go back to normal.

Parasites
Parasites have also been said to be a theory of a zombie outbreak. An example of such a parasite is Toxoplasma gondii, which is a single-cell parasite that is mostly found in cats. The parasite alters brain chemistry and can be transmitted to humans through under cooked meat including pig, lamb and venison. This certain parasite can also be transmitted through hand-to-mouth contact of infected raw meat. Some people believe that zombies could be caused by a parasitic organism; however, FHN Biology Teacher Chris Dalton doesn’t agree.

“I, myself, don’t think a parasite could turn a human into a zombie,” Dalton said. “Parasites can affect your mood because they make you sick and ill, but they don’t change who you are physically and genetically.”

This theory of a zombie outbreak has also branched from diseases such as Human African Trypanosomiasis, commonly known as the sleeping sickness.

A vector-borne parasitic disease, the sleeping sickness is transmitted to humans by certain species of tsetse fly bites. The flies acquire the infection from humans or animals carrying the parasite. These flies are found in sub-Saharan Africa, and regions that depend on agriculture, fishing, animal breeding or hunting are the most vulnerable. However, there are regions where the tsetse flies are found, but the sleeping sickness is not.

It’s a disease that neurologically turns healthy human beings into zombie-like confused people. The disease can kill an infected person if left untreated.The disease can develop in areas that have single village or an entire region. Within an infected area, the intensity of the disease can be different from one village to the next.

James Powell is a mathematics and biology professor at Utah State University. He uses the subject of

zombie invasion in some of his classes to teach application of mathematics to ecology. Powell has studied what would happen if a zombie attack would take place in his own of hometown Logan, Utah. He believes in outbreaks of diseases like rabies, but that a zombie outbreak is very unlikely.

“In the context of stuff that I’ve looked at, it could happen that we have an outbreak of something that kills off, let’s say, 40 to 70 percent of human population,” Powell said. “Something like that really could happen, but I think the idea of real zombies is unlikely.”

The Flu
Phenomena, rabies, the flu and even the common cold can usually take someone’s level of energy down. According to Powell, the theory of neurotoxins and parasites causing a zombie outbreak is not possible because if a person gets sick, their speed and stamina will be decreased.

“Zombies seem to have an awful lot of stamina and motivation,” Powell said. “If you take a human body and get it really sick, it’s just not going to keep function very long.”
“In my opinion, science is always evolving,” Riffee said. “In the future, who knows? Maybe zombies could happen. But based on what we currently know in science, it doesn’t appear as though it could happen. The human body would most likely shut down before it could go through the drastic changes to turn into a zombie.”FHN teacher Matthew Riffee, who has previously taught biology also agrees that theory of a zombie apocalypse has been proven wrong by what is known in science at this point.