Could a zombie apocalypse happen in real life? No. Not if we’re talking about the standard Hollywood zombie, a reanimated corpse in some state of decay with an inexplicable craving for human brains. If we’re talking about real life zombies, the kind found in Haiti, though—no. Couldn’t happen, that way, either. There aren’t nearly enough of those types of zombies to stage an apocalypse, and even if there were they wouldn’t possess the impetus to do so. They’re victims, not rampaging monsters, sad rather than scary. If, however, we’re talking about deranged but still living humans, the sort of zombies seen in the film 28 DAYS LATER, for example, there are some real-world scenarios that get uncomfortably close to the Hollywood fiction.
Check out this list of five supposedly scientifically-based reasons why a zom-pocalypse is possible, and even plausible. Brain parasites COULD effectively lobotomize people. That’s true. But could it make them rampage en masse? Prolly not. Howzabout neurotoxins? We’ve already covered that one. Mad Cow Disease? Plenty scary, but not zombie-inducing. The ability of stem cells to regrow dead brain tissue? Probably a better reason for stroke survivors to celebrate than for zombie-phobes to panic. Nanotech and mind control? Okay, THAT one is a little freaky. Can you think of any others?