Debunking the Unknown About the Undead: The History and Science Behind Zombies and Frankenstein
Written by: Daksh Verma, Richard Xu, Caleb Ng, Carmen Chau, Jeffrey Lu, Clement Li, Andrew Xia
INTRODUCTION
In light of Halloween 2020, despite COVID-19 forcing many children to stay indoors, and to not partake in trick-or-treating festivities, Quantum Outreach has decided to pay tribute to two of the most iconic monsters in horror: zombies and Frankenstein. In the Halloween Special, we will explore the concept of resurrection through the lens of science and biology.
FRANKENSTEIN
In 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published Frankenstein, a Gothic horror and science fiction novel. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein, who is a “mad scientist”, is a Swiss natural science student. Using alchemy, chemistry and electricity, he was able to bring a monster from inanimate corpses to life. Initially, it attempted to seek affection with Victor but was rejected by any mankind. The monster, now known as Frankenstein, took its anger on Victor and his family and eventually succeeded in killing Victor’s fiancé Elizabeth, and Victor himself. Frankenstein was written in a time period where anatomy and electricity were rapidly developing in the field of science. Through the portrayal of Frankenstein as a science experiment gone wrong, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley sparks awareness in the public of the potential dangers of being recklessly curious or thirsty for knowledge (Augustyn, n.d.) & (Cliffnotes, n.d.).
THE SCIENCE BEHIND ZOMBIES
Although zombies are still fiction, there are many examples in nature that mirror these monsters. One of these examples is Ophiocordyceps fungus, which we’ve actually written about before. The parasite emits chemicals that change the host’s brain, causing it to enter a “zombie-like trance”.
“More than half of the species that we know on Earth are parasites”
- Athena Aktipis, a theoretical evolutionary biologist @ Arizona State University
Another example of zombie-like phenomena in nature is the crypt gall wasp and the parasitoid crypt-keeper wasp. Gall wasp larvae mature inside a tree branch (crypt) and when they are ready to leave, they make a hole and climb out. A parasitoid comes along and lays its egg in the crypt and the larvae use the gall wasp to make a hole for it and then the parasitoid larvae eat the wasp and crawl out. (Ahmed, 2019).
Although humans are much more complex than insects, it is not out of possibility’s reach for parasites to manipulate us. Despite the comparably greater complexity in humans as opposed to insects, there is still a possibility for the parasitic manipulation of humans. Humans can experience infections that influence their personality, emotions and thoughts, potentially making them aggressive, sexually aroused (Ahmed, 2019).
- The rabies virus is known to make animals, as well as humans, aggressive; not only in a physical manner, but at times, also sexually aroused and aggressive
- Infections can arise from undercooked meat and hence, bacteria in the gut
- However, toxoplasmas (the parasites that cause this zombie-like behaviour) would need to drastically mutate to turn humans into something out of TV shows or video games
- As of right now, zombies, as defined in pop culture, are still fiction but there are parasites that can cause zombie-like behaviour but on a lesser scale
REANIMATION AND RESURRECTION EXPERIMENTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY
After Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity in the 18th century and Shelley’s Frankenstein rose to fame, there was a lot of interest in electricity’s potential to reanimate the dead. In the late 19th century, Italian surgeon Luigi Galvani experimented with this theory on frogs and his observations led to his nephew Giovani Aldini electrocuting a recently executed criminal. The body started to twitch, the legs, thighs and right arm started to move and even an eye was open. Aldini was not able to resurrect the dead murderer; however, it was soon discovered that electricity causes muscles to contract which can restart someone’s heart if they have no pulse (Brown, 2010).
In May of 1934, American biologist Robert E. Cornish managed to revive his two dogs (named Lazarus IV and V) by injecting a mixture of anticoagulants and steroids while rocking them back and forth to enable blood circulation. When Cornish was ready to perform on humans, Thomas McMonigle, an inmate on death row in California, volunteered, but was denied by the state of California (Hickok, 2019).
In 2011, Kelly Dwyer, a 46-year-old woman fell into a lake in New Hampshire and her internal body temperature dropped to 15 degrees Celsius. She was declared dead for 5 hours, but miraculously came back to life. Further analysis showed no obvious signs of brain damage and 2 weeks after the accident, it was as if nothing had happened to her, People have called this strange sight “The Lazarus Phenomenon” (the name comes from a story in the Bible where Jesus raised a dead man, Lazarus, back to life) (Hickok, 2019). The Lazarus phenomenon is primarily caused by delayed blood circulation in the body after CPR has ceded. A rapid increase of air in the lungs, known as dynamic hyperinflation, prevents one from breathing and consequently limits blood flow to the heart. This leads to cardiac arrest which is why the heart stops and the person is considered dead. Over time, dynamic hyperinflation wears off as blood circulation increases, essentially resuscitating the heart and bringing the body back to life (Hoffman, 2016), (Adhiyaman, Adhiyaman & Sundaram, 2007). Although it is difficult to document this phenomenon (as it requires the family’s consent), roughly 35% of those who experience the Lazarus phenomenon go back to living a healthy life. (Hickok, 2019)
THE LEGACY OF FRANKENSTEIN AND ZOMBIE SCIENCE
As we have discussed earlier, people in the past have experimented heavily with reanimation. Over time, scientists have come up with many new technologies that have revolutionized healthcare. Some of the newly revised medical procedures include cancer treatment, drug treatments and stem cell treatment. In Frankenstein, one of the prevalent themes was that scientists must proceed with caution when experimenting with new innovations and technologies in the medical field. Failure to do so might cause unintended, and often irreversible consequences. In the end, scientists are accountable for these consequences that they produce. Frankenstein forces humans to reexamine the morals and ethics revolving around science and technology, especially in the genetic engineering field of science. It begs several questions: Is it ethical to control whether someone should be alive or not? Just because we have the power to do something doesn’t always mean it is safe to proceed with said action (Shafer, 2018).
Zombie science is also relevant to the culture and lifestyles of people today. Zombies and Frankenstein. They are both integrated into our culture in the form of video games, Halloween, movies, etc. Some examples include Resident Evil, Dead by Daylight, World War Z, Day by Day, and the book Armageddon (PCGamesN, 2020).
A study conducted in 2011 found that entertainment products revolving around zombies and apocalypses are worth $5 billion to the American economy. This is a major indication that zombies are a major portion of modern-day culture, especially during the Halloween Season. People get a sense of thrill and enjoyment when participating in zombie/apocalypse related games and movies. Since zombies contribute to a decent portion of the global economy, they will most likely continue to rise in popularity as time passes (PCGamesN, 2020).
WORKS CITED
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Ahmed, I. (2019, November 1). The science of zombies: Will the undead rise? Phys Org. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://phys.org/news/2019-11-science-zombies-undead.html
Augustyn, A. (n.d.). Frankenstein. Retrieved October 31, 2020, from http://www.britannica.com/topic/Frankenstein.
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Frankenstein. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/frankenstein/frankenstein-at-a-glance.
Hickok, K. (2019, May 23). Zombie Science: Could We Ever Resurrect the Dead? LiveScience. https://www.livescience.com/65542-zombies-real-resurrection-experiments.html.
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Ogg, J. C. (2011, October 31). Zombies worth over $5 billion to economy. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna45079546.
Shafer, A. (2018). Why issues raised in Frankenstein still matter 200 years later. Stanford Medicine. https://stanmed.stanford.edu/2018winter/why-issues-raised-in-Frankenstein-still-matter-200-years-later.html.
SparkNotes. Frankenstein: Characters: The Monster. SparkNotes. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/character/the-monster/.
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