1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: Works dot Com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. 3 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: My name is Robert lamp This is Julie Douglas, and 4 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: this is this is a different episode that we're doing 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: here today. Normally, we we distract you with with the 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: you know, various cool things that are going on in 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,639 Speaker 1: the world scientifically speaking, and today is very much a 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: reactionary episode. Well it's kind of a distraction for us, yeah, 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: because we're we're here in Atlanta, stuck in the house 10 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: Stuff Works office. Um, I can't really get home. The 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: highways or are just a complete parking lot of you know, 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: cars are not moving. The Marta tracks have completely shut down. 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: Some people were trying to to walk the tracks through 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: the tunnels, and I believe that is meeting with varying 15 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: degrees of success. But a lot of people are calling 16 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: what's going on now as the outbreak, and we're going 17 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: to use the term zombie, but but really it is 18 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: a it's a it's a misleading term, as we'll discuss. Well, 19 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: the media keeps throwing it around because I mean the 20 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: effects of this parasite seems very zombie like. But look, guys, 21 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 1: we realized that you may not even actually hear this episode. UM, 22 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: we don't know when you'll hear it. Think if you 23 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: do hear it, things might have changed since this recording 24 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: that it's made first, and we're just trying to document 25 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: what's going on here in Atlanta. Yeah, so I'm gonna 26 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: I'm gonna just run through some of the facts, some 27 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: of the things we know about what's going on right now. 28 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: There's a lot of misinformation on out there. Hopefully if 29 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: if you were in the area that's affected, which seems 30 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: to be largely um uh confined to the Atlanta area 31 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: and a few other parts of the of the Southeast, 32 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: then hopefully you're listening to to uh you know, your 33 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: local radio, trying to find reliable TV signals. But we 34 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: do know that a severe zombie outbreak has occurred in 35 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: the Atlanta area. These these bombie packs are roaming the 36 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: city UH generally pursued by buzzards UH and coyotes occasionally raccoons. UH. 37 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: They are attracted by the smell of the king flesh 38 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: and UM. It was actually it was at first reported 39 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: as as a flash mob parody of the Walking Dead, 40 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: because as we are, Walking Dead is filmed here in Atlanta. 41 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: But no, it's the real deal, apparently. Yeah, and and 42 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: certainly that the pop culture idea of the zombie is 43 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: is something to take into account here, because take The 44 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: Walking Dead for example. The characters in that show are 45 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: dealing with zombies or walkers, and they seem to be 46 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: dealing with it outside of the pop culture idea of 47 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: the zombie. Like they don't seem to have any preconceived 48 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: notions about walking dead and walkers and zombies and what 49 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: have you. But but we have to contend to contend 50 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: with that. So again, these infected individuals are roaming the city. 51 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: They are they they are behaving violently. They are striking 52 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: out against uh really any kind of of non infected 53 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: individual that they're encountering. Um. Meanwhile, everyone else is either 54 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: holding up in their homes if and this is definitely 55 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,519 Speaker 1: the thing to do, hold up in your homes. The 56 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: infected individuals are not going to be able to access 57 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:16,359 Speaker 1: your home. They're not gonna be able to figure out locks. 58 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,519 Speaker 1: So if you're locked up, you're good. If you're going 59 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: out and trying to engage with them, that is where 60 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: the danger comes into play. Because again, everyone's been watching 61 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: all these zombie programs. We have a certain preconceived notion 62 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: of what this is supposed to be, and then what 63 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: is allowed. You have individuals that are behaving violently towards 64 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: the infected. Uh. So the hs W employees are fellow 65 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: podcasters have have have taken refuge inside the hs W offices. Yeah, 66 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: and we're all okay, but I mean there are some 67 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: signs of strain. Um, Josh Clark keeps ripping strips off 68 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: his shirt to make Rambo headbands. Yeah, which is fine, 69 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: just a little weird. And then Tracy Wilson um has 70 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: used her library bar code software and tagged each of 71 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: us with a call number. Well, you know, in stressful situations, 72 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: people handle things differently. They organize, they do some prep work. Um, 73 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: it's understandable. I do wish we could find Ben Bolen um, 74 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: so if anyone out there has seen him, UM, let 75 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: us know. Um other things that we know. The main 76 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: CDC centers for Disease Control compound here in Atlanta has 77 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: uh has fallen. Perhaps we're not sure if their communication 78 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: system is just out but um, we're not hearing any 79 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: word from them. But but this was after they did 80 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: release some preliminary findings. The research continues elsewhere, but we 81 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: do know that the quote unquote zombies are not undead 82 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: but living human specimens whose systems have been hijacked by 83 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: a parasitic organism. Right, this is very important, This is 84 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: what's This is really the nut of what's going on 85 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: right now. Yeah, the parasite seems to reprogram the patient 86 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: over a period of hours, uh, gradually introducing skin necrosis 87 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: and instilling a shambling gage. So the the the appear 88 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 1: to be rotting, But what is going on here is 89 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: the skin itself undergoing necrosis and taking on the appearance 90 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,359 Speaker 1: and eventually the odor of rotting flesh. Um, they're shambling, 91 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: they're groaning, severely depleted will, and extreme aggressive behavior toward 92 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: all other organisms, typified by a desire to claw, bite, 93 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: and quote unquote eat human flesh, and a lot of 94 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: name calling. There are a lot of name calling zombies, 95 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,799 Speaker 1: which I mean, it is funny, but it's not funny. 96 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: It's because they want to eat your face. Um, it's 97 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: like Don Rickles becoming super aggressive and being sort of 98 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: rabies written. Yes, and we'll get to the rabies question 99 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: in a bit too, because I know that has been 100 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: something that a lot of people have have been bringing up. Um. 101 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: The other thing is that popular consumption of zombie fiction 102 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: again has prepared everyone to respond in a violent, merciless 103 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: nature towards the infected. And this is only escalated the 104 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: unrest people see this happening and it it creates just 105 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: anarchy in the streets. Well, that's the question right now, 106 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: like what is what is the bigger threat here the 107 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,679 Speaker 1: unrest or this out? Yes, yeah, that and and certainly 108 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 1: they're they're more than enough guns to go around, which 109 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: also complicates the situation. Uh c DC preliminary findings indicate 110 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: that the parasite may complete its life cycle within the 111 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 1: body of a scavenging organism of some sort, perhaps coyotes, buzzards, 112 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 1: or maybe even bears. We're not sure. Certainly you have 113 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: uh in the situations where bears in other countries are digging, 114 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: dig up graveyard corpses and consume them. They're attacked attracted 115 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: to the smell of rotting flesh. Uh. And the CDC 116 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: also indicates that the parasite is transferable from human to 117 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: human via the infected blood and saliva. Now, some of 118 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: that is maybe not taking hold of your brains right away. 119 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: Exactly how this is working within the life cycle of 120 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: the parasite that we're still trying to understand, how it 121 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: can how it needs to enter another organism such as 122 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,799 Speaker 1: a buzzard such as the coyote or maybe a bear 123 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: to complete its life cycle. UM, but then can still 124 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: be spread from human to human. Well, in this episode, 125 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: what we're going to do in an attempt to try 126 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: and understand this unknown single cell parasite that is that 127 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: it seems to be causing the situation. We're going to 128 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: look at known examples, scientifically chronicled examples of parasitic organisms 129 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: that hijack a victim, hijack a host, and uh and 130 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: in some cases actually create zombie like behavior in that host. 131 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: We're gonna look to these examples and an attempt to 132 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: understand what's going on now. Yeah, because I mean, really, 133 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: this is the best information we have so far about 134 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: how to approach this outbreak in humans. So of course 135 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: the rabies thing keeps coming up, Yes, and uh, I 136 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: need I need to distress that this is not rabies. 137 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: We don't we don't have to worry about this being 138 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: a raby situation. UM. Human to human transmissions of rabies 139 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: are almost unheard of. UM. The Centers for Disease Control 140 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: speculates that it can happen due to sexual contact, kissing, 141 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: um organ tissue transplants, etcetera. But for the most part, 142 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: humans are actually catching rabies from other animals, from rapid animals, 143 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: and and outside of the United States where we only 144 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: have one or two, you know, three human rabies cases 145 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: a year in humans, between thirty thousand and seventy people 146 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: worldwide contract rabies. The thing is is that there's a 147 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: correlation with the symptoms of rabies and what we see 148 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: outside of our course today. There's the anxiety, confusion, Uh, 149 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: what seems like hallucinations, yeah, partial or total put paralysis yeah. 150 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: And Uh. The thing is is that with rabies, we 151 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: know that this doesn't really take hold of these symptoms 152 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: anywhere from like ten days to a year as the 153 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 1: virus incubates in the body. So the question is is 154 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: there a way that this rabies virus could have maybe 155 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: mutated um well and be responsible for what we see UM. 156 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: The CDC is saying no. But but theoretically it has 157 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: been proposed in the past that if rabies we were 158 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: to to mutate and and and take on flu light symptoms. Essentially, 159 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: if you had a hybrid of rabies and the flu 160 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: and influenza, then you could have an airborne rabies that 161 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: would spread with the would spread faster, and would have 162 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: a higher potential to spread from human to human. Now, 163 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: virologists at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine 164 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: and Florida, Samita Andriansky, she has said that sure she 165 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: could imagine a scenario where you could mix rabies with 166 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: a flu virus to get airborne transmission, a measled virus 167 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: to get personality changes, and cephalitis virus to cook your 168 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,680 Speaker 1: brain with a fever, and then increase aggression even more 169 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: by throwing in ebola, okay, so that you began to 170 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: bleed from your guts. She said, if you combine all 171 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: these things, you could get something like a zombie virus. 172 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: But she says nature doesn't allow all these things to 173 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 1: happen at the same time. Yeah. It. We're of course, 174 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: we're talking in this about theoretical chimera virus is UH, 175 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: and this is a big part of bioweaponry UH. The 176 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: and the idea that we could take existing pathogens and 177 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 1: and combine them to make something even more devastating. But again, uh, 178 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: CDCs told us is not rabies. This is not any 179 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: kind of bioterrorism attack or anything of that nature. Um. 180 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: And and when it comes to rabies in general, it's 181 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: worth noting that, yes, you can look at a list 182 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: of symptoms for rabies, and you can you can cherry 183 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: pick the symptoms that would make a zombie, but that 184 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: does not mean that every human case of rabies is 185 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: going to resemble something you saw in a zombie movie, 186 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: or resemble what's going on in the world right now. True. True, 187 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: But the paralysis, the extreme aggression, these are all things 188 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: that again we're seeing. Um. But as you say, this 189 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:53,720 Speaker 1: seems highly unlikely as a cause of the parasite that 190 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: has stricken humans right now. On how Stuff Works dot Com, 191 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: we have an article by Tracy V. Wilson, uh, which 192 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: I understand she's revising right now, over and over and photos, 193 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: lots of photos, um, how Zombies Work, where she breaks 194 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,079 Speaker 1: down some of the issues with rabies we've already discussed, uh, 195 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: the pop culture aspects of zombies, but then also gets 196 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: into this, uh, this idea that this the reality of 197 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,720 Speaker 1: Haitian zombie powder, which is another thing. We want to 198 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: special specify that this is not there's nothing going on 199 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: out here in the streets of Atlanta that is related 200 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:34,319 Speaker 1: to Haitian voodoo practices and and sorcery and and uh 201 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 1: in neurotoxins. Right, it's more of a question of bioweapons 202 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: and could this happen on a mass scale. And in 203 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: order to kind of give you guys an idea of 204 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:43,719 Speaker 1: what we're talking about, we should probably travel back to 205 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: night because in nineteen eighty there was a man who 206 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,959 Speaker 1: appeared in a rural Haitian village. He claimed to be 207 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: Clarvius Narcissa and that he had died in a hospital 208 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 1: in Haiti on March second, nineteen sixty two. Okay, so 209 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty he comes waltzing in. He described being 210 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 1: conscious but paralyzed during his presumed death. He had even 211 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,679 Speaker 1: seen the doctor cover his face with a sheet. And 212 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: he claims that a bacoor or a sorcerer had resurrected 213 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 1: him and made him a zombie. And this was a 214 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,319 Speaker 1: case that was explored by Dr Wade Davis traveled to 215 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: Haiti collected eight samples of the quote unquote zombie powder 216 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: that the sorcerers who are using there, and he identified 217 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: ingredients uh that contained some of these these common substances, 218 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: one being a tetrodotoxin from a pupper fish, toxic substances 219 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: from a marine toad, and some irritating substances from a 220 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:48,520 Speaker 1: highla tree frog. Now, the tetrodotoxin definitely causes paralysis and death, 221 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 1: and researchers have documented cases in which people have recovered 222 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: from near fatal poisonings with this substance, so they have 223 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: maybe seemed to die and then they have come back. 224 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 1: So there's there's the possibility that this substance is the 225 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: root cause of the zombie idea in Haitian culture. Well 226 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: in some victims of toxin poisoning often remained conscious until 227 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: just before death. So that would explain seeing that the 228 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: sheet going over your face right, right. But there are 229 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 1: a number of problems and potential problems with Davis's work. UH. 230 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,960 Speaker 1: So you have a number of individuals and the scientific 231 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: community who have criticized it or even called it fraudulent. 232 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: Some of questions in Davis's ethics since the observe the 233 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,959 Speaker 1: desecration of graves while gathering ingredients for the powder. UH, 234 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: some of questions whether the initial experiments with the powder 235 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: were scientific or control, and whether other substances have been 236 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: added to the powder being tested. Some allege that samples 237 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: of the powder can name little or no TETRAO toxin UH, 238 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 1: and Davis countered by saying that putting the powder into 239 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: solution for testing may have destroyed the active ingredients. Some 240 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: have charged that Davis repeated his topical applications of the 241 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,160 Speaker 1: powder using rats and saw absolutely no effect. And then 242 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: some individual studied this several of these alleged zombies and 243 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,719 Speaker 1: discovered clear cases of mental illness and mistaken identity. So 244 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: that's a lot of there's several grains of salt there 245 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 1: that you have to potentially take into account when you're 246 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: considering Davis's work. Well, there's also this idea of how 247 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: much could this can really absorb the powder anyway? And 248 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: if this were to be used on a mass scale 249 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: to create you know, quote unquote zombie humans, Um, how 250 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 1: how would that happen in a way that would make sense? Yeah, 251 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: and then you know, the case that we we were 252 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: talking about here is an individual wandering into a village 253 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: and saying, hey, I died a long time ago, and 254 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 1: I'm I'm not dead, and I'm a little confused, then 255 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: I'm a zombie. Um. That's generally not what you see 256 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: in zombie movies and and certainly not what we're seeing 257 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: on the street where we have peep individuals who are 258 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: raising questions about their their status and and and suggesting 259 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: that they might be zombies. Sure they might be a 260 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: bit confused, right, Um, the people who purportedly have been 261 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 1: ghost with zombie powder, but are right, they're not marauding. Um. 262 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 1: And certainly what we see the examples that we have 263 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: seen out there, um, people are not giving their autobiographies 264 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: right right, They're they're not. They're just engaging with other 265 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 1: with humans in a very um, a very brutal and 266 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: aggressive fashion. So all right, so you know it's worth 267 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,239 Speaker 1: I think talking about that. But really what we're concentrating 268 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: on today are parasites because this does seem to be 269 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: the cause here. So the life of a parasite is 270 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: is I think a lot of us know, is one 271 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: of eternal pilgrimage and cyclical return. Uh. They must leave home, 272 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 1: which is in a one type of organism, and they 273 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: must travel along strange roads through other organisms. Uh, and 274 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: then they must eventually return to the place they began. 275 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: So you have a primary host, and the primary host 276 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 1: is is where sexual reproduction happens. That is where the 277 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: creatures are are generally born, or at least the eggs 278 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: are produced. You know. This is this is the home. 279 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: And then there is a secondary organism, uh, in which 280 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: it must travel. And so you end up with this 281 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: this cycle, this life cycle where just as this as 282 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: a man leaves his home and he moves to a city, 283 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: and then he eventually returns home to die or to 284 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 1: begin life again. It's kind of that kind of cycle 285 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: prodigal parasite, yes exactly. Yeah, all right, well, before we 286 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 1: go into another one of nature's examples of this, let's 287 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: take a quick break because I mean, assuming everything's okay, 288 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: we still need to take a break and acknowledge, uh, 289 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: what's going on. Yeah it maybe it may be the 290 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: zombie apocalypse for all we know, but it doesn't mean 291 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 1: that we're not going to do advertisements. So we're gonna 292 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: take a quick break, and when we come back, we're 293 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: gonna get into the examples of parasitic zombies in action 294 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: in the natural world. Alright, we're back, and if you're 295 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: just joining us. We're in the grips of what many 296 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: people were calling a zombie outbreak or even a mild 297 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: zombie apocalypse here in the Atlanta area and in certain 298 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 1: pockets of activity throughout the Southeast CDC. Even though they 299 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: have apparently lost control of their their main facilities here 300 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: in Atlanta, they are still on the case. They're trying 301 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,880 Speaker 1: to get to the heart of this um. Law enforcement 302 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: is out trying to control both the infected individuals who 303 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: are roaming aggressively to the street and also the uninfected 304 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: individuals who have watched too many zombie shows and think 305 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: they need to take to the street with crude weapons 306 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: to battle the infected. It's it's there's a lot of unrest. 307 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: If you're listening to it, stay indoors, do not engage 308 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,880 Speaker 1: with the infected individuals. But in this episode, we are 309 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: talking about cases in nature where a parasite reprograms a 310 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,479 Speaker 1: host to its bidding and in some cases creates a 311 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: zombie from the host. So these are real world, natural 312 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:54,400 Speaker 1: examples of parasitic zombies in action, which will hopefully help 313 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 1: us to better understand what's going on out there in 314 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: the streets. Yeah, and we're going to talk about Toxoplasma galandhy. 315 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 1: We talked about T. Gandhi before, but I think it 316 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: bears covering this information again because there's some Again, there's 317 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: some really interesting correlations with what we see on the 318 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: streets and what we know about T. Gandhi. Um to 319 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: Gandhi really illustrates that single fell parasitic organisms are capable 320 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: of rewiring human behavior an attempt to complete their life cycle. 321 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: We know this. We have seen this in animals and 322 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: we've seen in humans. Yeah, Now, toxoplasi plasmosis um T. Gandhi, 323 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:34,439 Speaker 1: as we've discussed before, this is this is something that 324 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:36,880 Speaker 1: lives in the lining of an infected cat's and testines, 325 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 1: and for two or three weeks following infection, millions of 326 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 1: microscopic toxoplasmos so young, which we call osis, ship out 327 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: aboard the cats feces, they leave the mother ship cat 328 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 1: aboard the cat poop, and any creature that encounters the 329 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,880 Speaker 1: stowaway laden waste is susceptible to accidental infection. And this means, 330 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,639 Speaker 1: you know, touching a litter box, infected soil and actuld water, 331 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: infected garden veggies, or of course more importantly, rats and 332 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 1: rodents digging around in the poop. Okay, because the then 333 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: the idea is that while the cat is the primary host, 334 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: then the rat or rodent or squirrel chipment what have 335 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 1: you is the intermediate host where the ossu continue to 336 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 1: develop and uh, and then once they have developed inside 337 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:27,399 Speaker 1: of that rats day, then they want to return to 338 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,720 Speaker 1: a cat to complete their life cycle. And they do 339 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: this by reprogramming the rats brain. So normally a rat 340 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,199 Speaker 1: would say, I smell cat urine. I'm taken off right, 341 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 1: this is a fear signal. They processed this, but it 342 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: turns out that, uh, the parasite will actually cause the 343 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,680 Speaker 1: rat to crave urine and be attracted to it. And 344 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: not only that, the parasite is short circuiting the fear 345 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: center in the rats brain. Okay, so this is a 346 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: huge behavioral change. It is essentially saying, hey, rat, why 347 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,440 Speaker 1: don't you go present yourself to the cat and say here, here, kitty. Exactly? Yeah, 348 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: it's I mean it is that the parasite is in 349 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,920 Speaker 1: the rat. The parasite needs to return to a cat, 350 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: and so it does it by taking over the rat's 351 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: brain and saying, hey, don't worry about anything, let's take 352 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: some risk. Let's go hang out around the places where 353 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:23,919 Speaker 1: cats p all the time and see what happens. And 354 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: what will probably happen is a cat will eat them. Um. 355 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: There are even some studies that look at how this 356 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 1: affects humans when humans are the intermediate host. Yeah, that's 357 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,719 Speaker 1: the question. How does t gandi play out in humans? Right? 358 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: There's a two thousand study from Charles University in Prague 359 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 1: made a lot of let me really made the rounds 360 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: a few years back, cut for sure, and reportedly if 361 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: you happen to have a recus negative blood which means 362 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: missing a protein on the surface of your blood cells, 363 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: a toxoplasmosa infection could make you two point five times 364 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 1: more likely to wind up in an automobile accident. So 365 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:01,159 Speaker 1: we're getting into ideas of increased risky behavior to the parasites, 366 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,959 Speaker 1: tinkering with how you think and how you perceive dangers 367 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: in the world. Depending where you live in the world, 368 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: between thirty and six of the population is infected with 369 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: us already, so keep this in mind. So if you 370 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 1: if you were to have toxoplasmosis infection as a human, 371 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: as again the intermediate host for this parasite, you also 372 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,159 Speaker 1: might find yourself hearing voices or worrying over your enemies, 373 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,200 Speaker 1: plots against you, uh, plots against you and your cats 374 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 1: maybe even uh. And the conditions conspiral even into delusional thoughts, hallucinations, 375 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: social withdrawal, and even impaired movement and cognitive function. Uh. 376 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 1: These are also all symptoms, just so you know, of schizophrenia, 377 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 1: debilitating brain disorder that affects one point one percent of 378 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: US population. But they're still also symptoms of acute toxoplasmosa infection. UH. 379 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: So again it goes to show just how much influence 380 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:57,719 Speaker 1: a parasite, a tiny parasite, single cell organism, can have 381 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:01,479 Speaker 1: on the way we perceive realityity and interact with it. 382 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: So that's another thing to think about when you look 383 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: at what should be a healthy, living human behaving like 384 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:12,399 Speaker 1: a wild you know, zombie. Yeah. I mean here's the 385 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 1: thing too about t GANDHI. Um. You know, in in 386 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: those certain cases, it does hijack your immune system, particularly 387 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: if if you're someone who has a family history of 388 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,640 Speaker 1: schizophrenia mental illness. Right, there's this idea that could tip 389 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:34,400 Speaker 1: the scales. But um, so far Biologist Urroslav Flagger, who 390 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: he himself actually has t Gandhi. He found that toxoplasmosis, 391 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:43,360 Speaker 1: although really widespread among the population, is mostly responsible for 392 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:48,680 Speaker 1: behavioral changes like slovenly dress and introverted behavior in men 393 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:53,879 Speaker 1: and extraversion and attention to appearance in women. Yes, so 394 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 1: in a way, it kind of makes women a little better. 395 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:58,680 Speaker 1: It makes the cat ladies a little more pleasant and 396 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: makes the men a little more full. Okay, so we 397 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: think about what's going on with with a parasite that 398 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: has taken over humans that that are you know, clearly 399 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: very aggressive and slovenly. That makes sense for the male contingent, right, 400 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: but not the females. So we have plenty of female 401 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: zombies are there right now, at least from what we 402 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: have seen from the news clips and from the photos. 403 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,199 Speaker 1: And they are not interested in matching their shoes to 404 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:28,440 Speaker 1: their purses, right, we just put it that way. So, 405 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: so again we're not saying at all that that toxoplasmosis 406 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 1: is responsible for the zombies, but we're saying here's an 407 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: example in nature of how a parasite can rewire a 408 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: rat or a human to do its bidding and trying 409 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: to complete its life cycle. That's right, short circuiting the 410 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,400 Speaker 1: fear system in our brains, right, and hijacking the immune system. Right. 411 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,120 Speaker 1: So when we look out in the streets we see 412 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:54,439 Speaker 1: these packs of zombies, we see coyotes are buzzards in 413 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: their midst generally in some cases the buzzards are swooping 414 00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 1: in and eating on them, or coyotes are dragging the 415 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:03,119 Speaker 1: smaller zombie uh into the alleyways. Uh. The idea here 416 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,439 Speaker 1: is that that we think CDC thinks that one or 417 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: more of these species might be the the actual primary host, 418 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 1: and that the parasite is making is making these changes 419 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 1: in the in the the individual, making them more aggressive, 420 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 1: but also a little slow, a little staggery, a little stupid, 421 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: and also making them smell like rotting flesh, so that 422 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:28,160 Speaker 1: creatures who scavenge and consume rotting flesh will go after them, um, 423 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: because they have to complete the life cycle. Right now, 424 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,399 Speaker 1: you're and again you're probably wondering, well, if that's the 425 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: case that it needs to return to the scavenging creature 426 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 1: to sexually reproduce, then what's going on inside um, the 427 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,160 Speaker 1: intermediate host? How come a zombie can bite a human 428 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 1: being and spread this this parasite there? Well, that is 429 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: because within the intermediate host um, a sexual reproduction is possible, 430 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,879 Speaker 1: and we see this in the T. Gandhi um. Although 431 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: T Kandi ke Gandhi can infect, be transmitted by and 432 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: a sexually reproduce within humans and my stand any most 433 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: any other mammals that it's going to inhabit, the parasite 434 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,400 Speaker 1: can only sexually reproduce within the intestines of a cat, 435 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 1: and we see this. Uh. We've talked about this in 436 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: regard to other um organisms before, where sexual reproduction is 437 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: important for diversity and for long term survival, but sometimes 438 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,679 Speaker 1: you've got to fall back on a sexual reproduction just 439 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,639 Speaker 1: to get your numbers up, just to survive a particular phase. 440 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,480 Speaker 1: So yeah, and again, just to try to make sure 441 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,879 Speaker 1: that we're not having information UM being misinterpreted here, we 442 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,159 Speaker 1: are not saying Ti Gandhi is responsible for this, because 443 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,440 Speaker 1: if if this were the case, then we would see 444 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:46,720 Speaker 1: something that looked like pet cemetery outside with cats um 445 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: just attacking everybody and being super aggressive. And that is 446 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: not the case or not. The animals that are wandering 447 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: out humans seem to be the only intermediate host of 448 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,399 Speaker 1: this organism and uh, and we don't know what this 449 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 1: organism is yet it's something perhaps entirely new or something 450 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 1: long forgotten. We don't know, but hopefully the CDC will 451 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: have answers for us in due time. But we're gonna 452 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,680 Speaker 1: move on to some more examples of of of parasites 453 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:14,719 Speaker 1: hijacking their hosts and actual cases of parasit zombies. Now, 454 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: this one is is a pretty interesting case, and this 455 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,360 Speaker 1: is the case of of court aceps. Uh. What will 456 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,639 Speaker 1: happen is you'll have a bullet ant, for instance, and 457 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:29,119 Speaker 1: it becomes infected by a para parasitical fungus of the 458 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 1: court Aceps family, and these are these These infect the 459 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: ant's brain and UH and reprogram direct the ant to 460 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:41,439 Speaker 1: crawl upward, to to disregard its previous instincts and to 461 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 1: crawl up a blade of grass and grip the stem 462 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: with its mandibles. So it's jaws stuck on that at 463 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: the very top of that blade of grass. Yeah, it's saying, 464 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:52,800 Speaker 1: I know you're you're a program to you know, do 465 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,160 Speaker 1: your thing, be a part of the the ant colony 466 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 1: and do some work. But instead we're going to cancel 467 00:26:57,359 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 1: all that, and you're gonna climb up this blade of grass, 468 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: up this plant. You're gonna grab hold and you're gonna wait. Now, 469 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: worker ants who discover this, they will they'll say no, 470 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: we're not having this. This is bad, and and that 471 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 1: they know it's bad. So they will take the infected 472 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:14,679 Speaker 1: ant and they'll remove it. They'll drag it away and 473 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,400 Speaker 1: dump it far from the colony because if they don't 474 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:22,120 Speaker 1: do that, what happens next is pretty uh, pretty horrifying, yeah, 475 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,199 Speaker 1: because within six hours it will be dead and a 476 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 1: few days later a tube will sprout from the ant's 477 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: head and this is the fruiting body of the fungus 478 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:34,360 Speaker 1: that emits the spores which will infect a new generation 479 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: of ants. That is why they get them out of 480 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: the proximity of their area, right, Yeah, so that the 481 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: ant climbs up, grabs hold with all its might, dies 482 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:48,639 Speaker 1: this thing, this little fungoid sprout, splits out of its skull, 483 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 1: and then will deposit more these spores that would cause 484 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:55,840 Speaker 1: more and more ants to lose their minds, crawl up, grass, 485 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: die and then produce more spores and on and on. 486 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: And they're actually thousands of different court a SEPs out there, 487 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,880 Speaker 1: each aimed at a different insects species. Uh. Their their 488 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,160 Speaker 1: videos of it online. We'll try to share some when 489 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,240 Speaker 1: this episode goes live so that you can see some 490 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: of these examples in action. I'll try and do a 491 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:16,119 Speaker 1: podcast notes uh post for this episode so you can 492 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:20,360 Speaker 1: see these things because it's it's beautiful and haunting and uh. 493 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:23,680 Speaker 1: And while there's nothing out there that makes us think 494 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,439 Speaker 1: that any kind of court ACCEP is responsible for the 495 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: zombie thing we see in the streets right now. Um, 496 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:33,360 Speaker 1: if you but if you do see infected individuals zombies 497 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,840 Speaker 1: boasting fungoi protrusions from their body or skull, do contact 498 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: authorities immediately because that is new information that they could use. 499 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 1: So far we have not seen that. But but generally, 500 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 1: if you see anybody in your daily life with fungoi 501 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,719 Speaker 1: protrusions uh coming out of their head or body, uh, 502 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: do contact an authority because that's weird. I also wanted 503 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: to bring up the flat worm because the same sort 504 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,959 Speaker 1: of thing happens with ants, where a flat worm can 505 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: infect an ant. And again reprogram it. Call all the 506 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: way up the blade of grass again, chomp down the 507 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: jaws will not move by the way the ant, and 508 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: yes to to just sit there and wait until a 509 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: cow comes munches it along with the flatworm, because again 510 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,240 Speaker 1: it needs to complete its life cycle, it needs to 511 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: leave the ant and enter its primary hosts. Right, so 512 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: it gets into the cow's room and and then there 513 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:33,560 Speaker 1: it begins again. So just another example here of how 514 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 1: widespread in nature this act is of going in and 515 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:42,160 Speaker 1: tinkering with another organism's brain. Yes, now this next one 516 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 1: is also very very visual, and do check out the 517 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:46,760 Speaker 1: blog post so you can see an example of this one. 518 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: I'm talking about luco Corridium paradox um or it's commonly 519 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 1: known as the green banded brood sack. And this parasite 520 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,720 Speaker 1: goes through a couple of different life cycles. But then 521 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: it does all of the really interesting stuff inside of 522 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 1: a snail. Okay, so, so what happens you have a 523 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 1: grazing snail. It eats some bird droppings, because that's what 524 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 1: snails do. They're beaters. They eat gross things. Uh and 525 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,640 Speaker 1: then uh, and then the parasite goes through some life 526 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 1: cycles inside of the snail, and then it starts pumping 527 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 1: embryos into a fat, throbbing, pulsate, brightly pulsating brood sack 528 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: that it builds in the snake's eye. Stalks so it's 529 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: builds this sack inside the eye stalk and then inflates 530 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,640 Speaker 1: it with it's young and uh. The parasite also takes 531 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,720 Speaker 1: control of the snail's brain, making the creature actually crave 532 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: daylight and making it set out into the open. And 533 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: you know snails, they tend to keep to the shadows, 534 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 1: you know, inside of your compost heat. So when you 535 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: go to get some to stir it around it, you know, 536 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: grosses the hell out of you, that kind of thing. 537 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: But it reprograms allay and said, actually, we're not going 538 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: to keep to the shadows. We're gonna head out into 539 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: the open, uh with our pulsating brood sack eyeball, which 540 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:59,120 Speaker 1: is really important because that is uh to a bird's 541 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 1: eye at least, it looks a lot like a caterpillar. 542 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 1: It looks like a tasty caterpillar. They're just fat and 543 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,560 Speaker 1: full of protein and ready for for snatching up. So 544 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 1: that's exactly what birds do. They swoop down, they eat 545 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,600 Speaker 1: the ice talk, and now they have the parasites inside 546 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 1: of them, so it can continue bird primary host uh, 547 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 1: snail garden sale is the secondary host, and it just 548 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,840 Speaker 1: continues like that. UM, even if the snail survives all 549 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 1: of this, they stay paralyzed, and that means that they 550 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 1: can affect other birds, which can affect other snails. And 551 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: it just continues. Okay, So another example we wanted to 552 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: talk about is Dino campus Cottonella. This is a parasitic wasp. Yes, 553 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:40,600 Speaker 1: now this is a this is a really cool um 554 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: this is this is a really cool wasp. But I'm 555 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: a big fan of wasps. Uh, even when they sting 556 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: me and or almost killed my sister, or sting my 557 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,840 Speaker 1: wife and make her leg really itchy for a week 558 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: that we and we did have an episode about wasps 559 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: versus bees, yes, and the differences and wasp kind of 560 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: came out on top in terms of their might. And 561 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 1: they're there, uh the frightening ability to do things like this, Yeah, 562 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 1: they're they're more warriors. Uh so implanting your larva inside 563 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 1: the belly of of another species, um was We're doing 564 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: this long before anybody dreamed up, you know, any kind 565 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: of xenomorph for an alien movie. This is why they 566 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 1: have their stingers, their ovipositors. Uh, the ideas, you know, 567 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 1: they plant the young inside this uh, this living creature, 568 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 1: and then when the thing develops it's able to have 569 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: its first meal by consuming the creature that it's growing inside, 570 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 1: born in in this case a sweet old ladybug. Yes, Now, 571 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 1: if you've ever had an infestation of ladybugs, you know 572 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: that they're the sweet act gets old really fast. But 573 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:46,720 Speaker 1: but in this case um with dino campus coxinella, the 574 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 1: young hatches inside the belly of the host um. But 575 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,840 Speaker 1: and this is following, of course, the the makeshift catastrophic 576 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: surgery by its parent to get it in there to 577 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 1: begin with. But not only does the ladybug survive the birth, 578 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 1: this parasitic birth from it this this chest bursting like 579 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: an aliens, but there's a little bit of a behavioral 580 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,760 Speaker 1: modification that goes on as well that causes the ladybug 581 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 1: to hang out and guard the parasite baby as it 582 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 1: grows into adulthood beneath its protective bolt bulk. And scientists 583 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: believe that its secretions left by the larva when it 584 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: burst out that probably play a role in reprogramming the host. 585 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 1: Now of these ladybugs survived this ordeal in sort of 586 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: resume day to day behaviors, right, normal behaviors. Yeah, they're 587 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:38,040 Speaker 1: just Insects are pretty hardy and and so they they 588 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: eventually shake off the crazy that was caused by the 589 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:44,440 Speaker 1: larval secretions. Uh. And even though they have a hole 590 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,800 Speaker 1: in their stomach that will larva emerge from there, they're 591 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:51,080 Speaker 1: still good to go. So again, this is another example 592 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:55,800 Speaker 1: of a parasitic relationship that involves reprogramming reprogram gramming of 593 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:59,440 Speaker 1: a host to do something that is advantageous to the organism, 594 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,640 Speaker 1: in this case, guard the young. I mean, it's it's 595 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: like a complete case of Oh, um, I really don't 596 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,480 Speaker 1: want to raise this wasp kid on my own. I'm 597 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:11,359 Speaker 1: gonna put it inside your abdomen. Oh and by the way, 598 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:13,359 Speaker 1: when he gets out, he's gonna need a little looking after. 599 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:15,840 Speaker 1: I'm gonna have you do that as well. Uh. And 600 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,759 Speaker 1: then afterward, if you survive all of this, then you 601 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,359 Speaker 1: can carry on with your normal life. I also want 602 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,600 Speaker 1: to give another example of a parasitic wasp that takes 603 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:27,879 Speaker 1: over um a spider that is indigenous to Costa Rica. 604 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 1: The spider is called Analysimus octavious, and what happens is 605 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:37,080 Speaker 1: that the wasp has genes that produce proteins that alter 606 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:42,040 Speaker 1: the spider's behavior. Right, and in this case, the proteins 607 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 1: contract out with the Spider as though it were an architect. Right, 608 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:48,760 Speaker 1: So this is what the Wasp was doing is basically saying, 609 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,120 Speaker 1: you need to build me a house. Okay, So the 610 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: Spider abandoned its own home and begins spinning a new 611 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:59,799 Speaker 1: shelter for the eventual Wasp larva that will emerge from 612 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,120 Speaker 1: it's carcass. Right, okay, because at this point that the 613 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: Wasp has already deposited its lava into the Spider, the 614 00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:10,719 Speaker 1: new shelters spun by the Spider is key to the 615 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: wasps larva's survival. It has a platform topped by a 616 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,720 Speaker 1: thick sheet that protects it from rain, and the wasp 617 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,720 Speaker 1: lava crawls to the edge of this platform and spins 618 00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: a cocoon that hangs down through an opening that the 619 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:28,680 Speaker 1: Spider has provided when it was creating this home for 620 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:32,520 Speaker 1: the wasp lava that emerged from its body. Wow. That 621 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:37,399 Speaker 1: that is an incredible case of parasitic manipulation. In one case, 622 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 1: we saw the Wasp saying, Hey, you're gonna raise my 623 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:41,359 Speaker 1: young and in this case, hey, you're going to build 624 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 1: a house for me. You're going to build a house 625 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,480 Speaker 1: specific and it's gonna be very different from the types 626 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,680 Speaker 1: of homes that you normally spin. This one is going 627 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:52,360 Speaker 1: to have a ledge, it's going to have some shelter um. 628 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:55,680 Speaker 1: In speaking about parasites in the animal world, particularly cases 629 00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:59,360 Speaker 1: of toxic plasmosis or these architect zombie spiders of The 630 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,040 Speaker 1: New York Times, author of the article how to Control 631 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:06,560 Speaker 1: an Army of Zombies, rights that whether humans are susceptible 632 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 1: to this sort of zombie invasion is less clear. It 633 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:14,360 Speaker 1: is challenging enough to figure out how parasites manipulate invertebrates, 634 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:18,800 Speaker 1: which have a few hundred thousand neurons in their nervous systems. Vertebrates, 635 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:21,880 Speaker 1: including humans, have millions or billions of neurons, and so 636 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:26,799 Speaker 1: scientists have made fewer advances in studying their zombification. Things 637 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,800 Speaker 1: to think about as as we face, uh, this, this 638 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:32,800 Speaker 1: parasite infection in front of us. Yeah, I mean, it's uh, 639 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,279 Speaker 1: it's it's getting kind of bad. The coffee machine has 640 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:39,279 Speaker 1: been out for literally hours here at work. Yeah, I 641 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,800 Speaker 1: know you your your eye keeps twitching and that I 642 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,200 Speaker 1: can't I mean, I'm gonna say this. You have unsettling 643 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:48,759 Speaker 1: presence that's beginning to form around you. Well, that's that's 644 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:50,359 Speaker 1: no good at all. I'm gonna have to drink more 645 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:52,279 Speaker 1: green tea. I know, I'm gonna, you know what, I'm 646 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,839 Speaker 1: gonna try to find all the caffeine stores I can. Yeah, 647 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:56,880 Speaker 1: I promise you that you think some of our coworkers 648 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:00,399 Speaker 1: are stockpiling caffeine, because if that is the case, um, 649 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:02,799 Speaker 1: there needs to be reckoning. Well, I think that after 650 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,719 Speaker 1: this we can probably investigate, maybe round up some people 651 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,440 Speaker 1: suspects and see see who's holding because because seriously, it's 652 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,120 Speaker 1: supposed to be a team here, I know, right, Okay, 653 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: so we we all need to be on the same 654 00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 1: page here. We don't need to be, you know, taking 655 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 1: all the coffee in the caffeine because we need it exactly. 656 00:37:21,719 --> 00:37:25,040 Speaker 1: Did you did that sound like a body slumping up 657 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:29,359 Speaker 1: against the door. It might be, Um, it might be, Well, 658 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:31,000 Speaker 1: we better we better close this out so we can 659 00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 1: investigate that. I'm just gonna rehash for people that are 660 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,200 Speaker 1: still listening about the threat that we're facing. Stay indoors. 661 00:37:37,239 --> 00:37:40,080 Speaker 1: The effected will not be able to manipulate locks. Um. 662 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:44,120 Speaker 1: Also pay attention to emergency broadcasts, listen to what's going on. 663 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:47,760 Speaker 1: Hopefully the CDC law Enforcement National Guard will have everything 664 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,520 Speaker 1: sorted out shortly. Do not harm infected individuals. Again, these 665 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,439 Speaker 1: are not the living dead. These are individuals whose whose 666 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:56,560 Speaker 1: bodies have been taken over by a parasite that we're 667 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:59,440 Speaker 1: still trying to understand. It's causing their skin to undergo. 668 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 1: The crown appear to be rotting in order to attract 669 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,000 Speaker 1: um scavenging organisms um. And it also, recovery may be 670 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,759 Speaker 1: possible for these individuals. We talked about the ladybug. It 671 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:11,319 Speaker 1: returns to normal life after the paraside have done with it, 672 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:15,560 Speaker 1: so uh, it may cure itself naturally. CDC may have 673 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:18,399 Speaker 1: some sort of a cure that we can start rolling 674 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:21,120 Speaker 1: out very shortly, we don't know yet. But do not 675 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:23,800 Speaker 1: harm the individuals. Do not harm the zombies. And finally, 676 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:27,239 Speaker 1: reports sightings have infected U two authorities as well as 677 00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:31,200 Speaker 1: any new peculiarities that may be uh showing up, because 678 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:33,319 Speaker 1: that might help us to better understand what's happening. Yeah, 679 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:37,760 Speaker 1: we're talking about pulsating brood sex or fungoid procrisions. Indeed, 680 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,640 Speaker 1: all right, uh, let us know what you guys know 681 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 1: out there about what's going on. You can get in 682 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:45,279 Speaker 1: touch with this uh, in many different ways. Yes, you 683 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:47,319 Speaker 1: can visit our website, which is Stuff to Blow Your 684 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,400 Speaker 1: Mind dot com. You can find us on Facebook and tumbler. 685 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 1: We are stuff to Blow your Mind on both of those. 686 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:55,920 Speaker 1: Our Twitter feed is blow the Mind, and on YouTube 687 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:59,080 Speaker 1: we are Mind Stuff Show and you can always send 688 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:07,320 Speaker 1: us an email at blow the Mind at discovery dot com. 689 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:09,839 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 690 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:16,360 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com