In terms of popularity, zombies can certainly compete with such horror personas as Count Dracula or Frankenstein. However, is it possible for zombies to really exist and are we actually at risk of them someday flooding the world?
How is a zombie created?
Although there are a whole range of exceptions, typical zombies are slow-walking monsters in various stages of decomposition. They can only be killed in one way, by destroying the brain. This can be done in many ways. Firearms are the best, because they allow a person to maintain a distance, but bullets don't grow on trees. Therefore, it is good to always have a hatchet, a baseball bat or at least a sharp knife at hand during a zombie apocalypse.
The strength of the zombie, however, is not in immortality or other miraculous abilities, but in quantity. They can multiply exponentially. Just a few bites and from a few ghouls suddenly an army of several hundred. But how can something like this arise?
In movies and books, zombies usually owe their messy state to viruses. According to scientists, however, it is highly unlikely that any pathogens could be responsible for the aforementioned states.
Of course, it is possible to imagine a virus that turns humanity into a thoughtless horde craving only human flesh. However, a virus would certainly not be able to revive already dead tissues.
Something like this has never been observed. But what if such a disease really appeared in the future? Would humanity stand a chance?
Not very positive studies
According to a number of mathematical models that deal with this phenomenon, the answer is not very encouraging. The most pessimistic predictions give humanity a maximum of half a year, often even less.
A lot would of course depend on where the zombie virus first appeared. Remote places can be relatively easily isolated, as well as islands.
However, there are also studies that give people some small chance. They take into account our ability to kill, which could paradoxically get us out of trouble. However, there are significantly fewer of these positive studies than negative ones