• Disease conspiracy and speculation
    6 replies, posted
So I've been binge watching youtube videos about diseases and zombie outbreak potential of these diseases and all sorts of hoo ha of yadda yadda of diseases killing off humanity. Anyway, this got me thinking-- These videos have made me start to draw possible conclusions on the nature of a plausible outbreak that could end humanity in different ways, and how some diseases initially found to be harmless to humans may change our social functions. Here is some really late night speculation (its midnight over here) on these diseases: My conclusion on why many humans are addicted to cats: There is a disease called Toxoplasma Gondii, that pertains as a neurological disease in mice, where it takes control of the mouse, and basically shows itself off to a cat. The cat then eats the mouse, and the disease replicates in the cat's digestive system, to be excreted and off to infect more mice. This is essential on an evolutionary scale because the disease can only be grown in a cat's digestive tract. So the mouse gets infected, and is neurologically attracted to a cat and shows off to be eaten. Now, scientists say this disease does not affect humans in such a fashion, and some scientists speculate that a zombie outbreak can stem from a disease such as this, though it would require a large amount of evolution to cause harm on a zombie scale. Toxoplasma Gondii is easily contracted by humans and warm blooded mammals, through infected cysts and colonies. You can get it from throwing away your cat's shit from the litter box. Scientists say that half, yes FUCKING HALF of the human population is INFECTED with this disease. Big fucking whoop, since it's harmless, right? Now, back to loving this cat for a moment-- what if the disease had some sort of influence on your standing of cats? Some humans have an unconditional love for cats (look around us, brothers, there is plenty of cat lovers on the web!), and I speculate that this disease, because it does not prove beneficial or detrimental to humans, has been left to evolve in an unregulated fashion. Humans who have been infected with Toxoplasma Gondii may possibly have a strain of the virus that has evolved to change their standing on cats. I mean, how many people do u know who unconditionally love all cats? I can name a good amount. This disease could potentially have bred people who love cats. Obviously cats do not wish to eat us. Cats cannot harm us. But alot of us love cats. This disease could have forced us to like cats. We are not really loving cats, but trying to show off and lure a cat in to attack and eat us. beyond this speculation, I have not much more to suggest or say, but let that just sink in for a moment. TL;DR Toxoplasma Gondii is a disease that forces a mouse's brain to show itself off to a cat. Cat eats the mouse, and the disease can only replicate in the cat's digestive system. Humans can get this disease. Scientists say that humans aren't affected by this disease. But WHAT IF this disease is the cause for so many people loving cats? NEXT UP: My take on the most plausible zombie disease The almighty Neil DeGrasse Tyson has already debunked the traditional zombie-- the straight-outta-cemetery, dead, slow zombie. The zombie's muscles would have succumbed to rigor mortis (the stiffness that the limbs of dead bodies possess) and thus would make it impossible for a zombie to walk let alone stand. Physiologically speaking, a zombie that only dies by severe brain trauma to the head would also technically be impossible, because the brain needs oxygen transported by blood to function at all. The brain controls all movement in a body, so the traditional headless, rising from the grave zombie would be impractical. But you know what is practical? a rage inducing virus. A disease that doesn't drive the human to feast on the flesh of the living, but rather drive the brain to attack those who do not possess the "signature" of the disease. Think 28 days / 28 weeks later style zombies. These zombies are not dead humans, driven to eat a human, who then coincidentally rise as a zombie-- These are humans. Fully alive, fully functioning humans. A disease that induces rage in a human, that makes it seek non-infected humans, and then use a tactic that would spread the disease. Now this is getting into the realm of "The Omega Man". These people were infected with a disease that made their skin white, and caused them to want to spread the infection, and seek and obliterate those who could not have the disease. Basically make them a religious cult of people who wanted to spread some bullshit convergence shit. But however, they retained upper reasoning and thinking. They could speak, operate weapons, and get dressed in the morning. What dictates a zombie is the lack of these functions. If you were to destroy the frontal lobe of the brain, the human looses a good majority of personality, creativity, and drive. The disease could take over from here. Destroy the parts of the brain related to emotion and impulse-- removing any attachment to anyone, as well as removing any room for the individual to make many choices, combined with the frontal lobe, and then have the disease induce rage, adrenaline, and an urge to attack and bite people, and you have a zombie pandemic on your hands. The worst part? They're the running kind. The fast, screaming, pummling, zombie kind. So my conclusion? Zombies are possible. Look at rabies-- you can get rabies from being bitten from a dog. The only reason you don't go batshit insane is because of the long incubation period. What if the incubation period was almost instantaneous, and could replicate in the salivary glands? It already runs through the blood-- the salivary glands would just make it completely zombie worthy just about. Combine it with degradation of the human's emotions and impulses and drive and personality, and you have a star american-football style line man motherfucker running at you, tackling you, taking a bite out of you, beating you and scratching you until you turn, and then both of you move on to infect more people. Any thoughts or arguments or additions to either of these speculations? Its past midnight now, and I am extremely tired. I cannot think up much else right now. I will continue this rant some other day.
aids was created by WHO :v:
T. gondii has been reported to be linked with increased rates of mental disease and altered personalities. Interstingly enough, there's major difference between the way it alters the personalities of men and women. Men become more aggressive and impulsive, while women generally become more generous and kind. Toxoplasmosis isn't going to affect shit about your preference to cats. The various pathways that it uses to trick mice into suicide are quite interesting. Mice infected with T. gondii show aversion to light, and the smell of the cat is changed from a "Holy fuck predator run away" response to a "Food/lovely things". T. gondii isn't harmless anyway, new infections causes spontaneous abortions in pregnant women, as well as fucked up birth defects for later term pregnant women. It's also seriously dangerous to immunocompromised patients. I'm super worried about the declining effectiveness of antibiotics, anti-retrovirals, anti-malarials, anti-fungals and antiparastitic medications. My guess is that we're going to see a massive resurgence in XDR-TB (Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis) infections sometime within the next 50 years. Probably mostly contained to the third world with peripheral infections to major first world countries, as i'm quite sure that TB vaccines will be reintegrated into the vaccination regimes. Hopefully we've figured out some other way to fight these infections by then, otherwise these pathogens will simply out evolve us and then we're back to fighting TB with moist air and mountain retreats. Shit like Ebola is too high profile to actually prove to be a potentially world ending threat. TB isn't world ending, but it's much more insidious and could probably debilitate an entire population. I'm also not looking forward to the resurgence of traditional diseases such as Cholera, Measles, Typhoid, Rubella, Diphtheria, Tetanus (I feel sorry for the poor child that has to suffer through that), and fucking Polio. Although we're close enough to eradicating Polio.
zombies are the product of old Haitian (IIRC?) mysticism and (relatively) new age fantasy. it's [I]extremely[/I] unlikely, borderline impossible, for such a thing to even come close to coming to be. but since this thread is for speculation, let's speculate. i'm actually glad you brought up the areas of the brain responsible for various functions ranging from emotional regulation to decision making and so on. theoretically, a virus [I]could[/I] damage areas of the brain such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insular cortex, causing a lack of connection to people and things, a complete disregard for the well being of others, a lack of empathy, rage, etc. damage to the frontal lobe could also cause impulsive behaviour and damage to the entire amygdala could cause a lack of emotional response and so on. but think of the odds of such a thing actually happening. this type of damage actually occurs in psychopaths/sociopaths but we don't call them zombies. then again, these types of neurological damage are due to non-pathogenic causes. the likelihood of zombies? pretty much zero. yet people still have a fetishism for the whole zombie apocalypse idea to the point of even stockpiling supplies and building bunkers. it's ridiculous. leave zombies to movies, shows, art, video games, and so on. sure, they're a cool element. but they're fiction.
[QUOTE=zach1193;49181799]aids was created by WHO :v:[/QUOTE] You can't just leave a post like that, who created it? who is it? Who are you talking about?
In response to Quark, a revised theoretical situation will be created. This virus does not DAMAGE the prefrontal conrex and insular cortex, it SEVERS it. Think lobotomy. Let's say it also damages the parts of the brain associated with memory (I forget this name). So now they do not have feelings, think rationally, remember anything, or recognize faces. Combine this with a virus that releases adrenaline. Then add on an urge to act aggressively to sound, and sudden changes of light (most importantly sound, however). You now have mindless people who are always batshit pissed off and prepared to pummel and sprint and charge anything that makes sound or produces a ton of light. Figure out how to make them inclined to bite, and have the virus reproduce in the salivary glands, and you have Left 4 Dead style zombies / 28 days/weeks Later zombies. Or "infected individuals" Thats the other thing. The new type of "zombie" isn't really a zombie. It is an individual infected with a rage-inducing virus. If you were to go to George Romero and describe the "new" zombie to him at the time of him making "Night of the Living Dead", he would not describe it as a zombie. He would probably call you a genius and make a movie out of it and not associate them to zombies. You'd probably have people reminiscent of "The Crazies". Which ironically enough while doing research on this topic, I found that George Romero also wrote. This change between the old zombie and the new zombie is drastic. Think the difference between the original Dracula and Edward Cullen... Plotline of Twilight and his "vegetarian" diet aside.
[QUOTE=EskillV2;49192914]You can't just leave a post like that, who created it? who is it? Who are you talking about?[/QUOTE] The world health organization you goof lol
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