Biological Basis of Zombies

Fact vs. Fiction Fiction Zombies are dead rotting corpses that come back to life They feed off of brains They spread their disease to others by biting/attacking/etc. You can only kill a zombie if you cut off its head

FAKE!

Fact vs. Fiction Fact Zombies originate from Haiti Created by Voodoo Witch Doctors It takes specific ingredients to make a zombie; not a disease

Real!

Zombie Powder Main Ingredients -Charred human bones or remains -Puffer fish poison -Jimson Weed

Tetrodoxine(TTX) Causes include: – Nausea – Dizziness – Weakness – Paralysis -Prevents the flow of sodium ions by blocking the sodium ion channels -Leaves the potassium ion unaltered -Found in Puffer Fish (Victims stay conscious through the paralyzed coma state)

Jimson Weed (Datura Stramonium) Administered to create that zombie-like state. Symptoms include: – Impaired coordination – Incoherent speech patterns – Dry mouth – Central stimulation followed by depression -Main chemical components are: -Atropine -Scopolamine (these chemicals interfere with acetlcholine

Atropine & Scopolamine Blocks the action of acetylcholine at all nerve endings where the receptors are located. Causes: difficulty swallowing; reduced secretions; rise in heart rate; hallucinations; confusion; impairs memory; & many more. “Blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, red as a beet, hot as a hare, dry as a bone, the bowel and bladder lose their tone, and the heart runs alone.”

Treatment No known treatment except for death. Folklore says that if a zombie were to eat salt, it would return to its grave and die.

Haiti & Zombies Now Making a person into a zombie is now illegal. Article 249 of the Haitian Penal Code states, “It shall also be qualified as attempted murder the employment which may be made against any person of substances which, without causing actual death, produce a lethargic coma more or less prolonged. If, after the person had been buried, the act shall be considered murder no matter what result follows.”