The zombie movie genre has a huge fan following in all nooks of the world, and films made on this concept have portrayed undead humans feeding on other humans. Until now, zombies are confined to movie screens, but some experts believe that there could be a real-life zombie outbreak if a parasite could affect the brain or if a new virus gets evolved triggering zombie traits. Scientists have already found that a parasite named Toxoplasma gondii could infect rodents, and upon infection, these rodents fearless around cats.
Parasite makes rodents fearless beings
After being infected with this parasite, rodents could head towards a cat where it could be eaten. Scientists are still unclear whether this parasite will act on humans in the same way as it does in rats. It should be noted that half of humans already have this parasite in their brains in the form of harmless cysts.
And now, a study conducted by researchers at the University of California has suggested that the parasite is more powerful than previously thought. Wendy Ingham, who was involved in the study suggested that toxoplasma is extremely dangerous.
"The idea that this parasite knows more about our brains than we do, and has the ability to exert desired change in complicated rodent behavior, is absolutely fascinating. Toxoplasma has done a phenomenal job of figuring out mammalian brains in order to enhance its transmission through a complicated life cycle," said Wendy Ingham, who was involved in the study.
Will the zombie virus conquer humanity?
Dr. Ben Neuman, a professor of virology at the University of Reading suggested that a virus like rabies, if gets evolved could conquer humanity.
"There are parasites out there that get close to making actual walking around zombies. But the real weirdoes locked up in Mother Nature's basement are the viruses. There are more viruses out there than we will probably ever discover and I bet that somewhere out there in nature something like this is happening. If you look at rabies, it completely changes the way a dog behaves. It's transmitted by bites, it leads to madness, convulsions, and so it's not really that far-fetched," said Neuman.
If such a zombie virus starts infecting humans, it could make humans mad like rabid dogs, thus causing ultimate chaos in society.
