Also, I would not disband the idea that zombies would need to consume calories to “live”. The energy to move has to come from somewhere or they are breaking some very basic laws of science. This energy could admittedly be drawn from other sources (perhaps the decaying body itself), but if these zombies are seeking us out to eat us (as we all seem to agree), doesn’t it stand to reason that they have some need that compells them to do so?

As for whether dismembered body parts could still function: Seeking out life is a very high-level task, and I have difficulty believing that a virus or bacterium could work towards this task without the assistance of the body (and the brain). I believe that there is a lot of support for the idea that destroying the brain would stop the zombie.

and Jordan to add to you “theroy” 28 days later was a movie on a completly diffrent virus people infected are still living thats why they could run……..but to the living dead they can’t run PREIOD becuse we as living humans strech outr musals but to our bodys we repair that or a we can repair our cuts wounds and other things while zombies have no working organs or defensive biological mesuares (other then there brain works) but the living dead can not repair them selves and thats why they can only limp around so pther than the mabye 2-4 hour area where they could (mabye) jog all teh living dead can do is walk as is stated “The Walking Dead”

There is a lot that we simply do not yet understand. The mechanics of zombies, their physiology, their “lifespan” (if it can be called that) or disease transmission. We haven’t even managed to identify the infectious agent – although many call it a virus, it could well be a bacterium, fungi, prion or some as yet unknown agent.

That said, I may be able to offer up some hypotheses. Please bear in mind that these are simply my ideas and should not be confused with real, evidence-based medicine in an apocalypse scenario.

According to recent Hollywood films (obviously not to be taken too seriously) and some new footage of recent encounters, there appear to be several differences between fast moving “zombies” and their better know, slow moving counterparts. Most notably, fast zeds bleed (witness the rather impressive arterial spray seen in recent movies) and there is also some evidence to suggest that they can starve. This would seem to suggest that they retain functioning vascular and metabolic systems. In addition, it has been suggested that a “head shot” is not the only means of disposing of them – violent dismemberment also appears successful, perhaps even preferable.

Again, this evidence suggests that fast “zombies” are actually very different from the conventional zombie. I would go so far as to say that fasts are not actually “zombies” at all, consisting instead of a still living body. Although they are impervious to the pain of previous injury, they are not always able to survive it.

As such, although fast moving zeds may be considered zombies in the sense that they are ordinary human beings infected with a contagious agent which drives them to attack others, they are a very different kettle of fish to our better known, slow moving zombies. The threat is obviously still great, but acknowledging this distinction could make all the difference. For one thing, a functioning vascular system leads to a greater risk of infection, as exposure to infected zed blood is likely to be higher.

This is the cutting edge of scientific study, but it is constantly being suppressed by skeptical journals and over-cautious government funding bodies. I am a great supporter of this site, but I think that a greater emphasis may need to be placed on the evolving field of zombie research and on developing appropriate public health measures to prevent and control any outbreaks.

In my previous post I stated “It’s best to be prepared for both as history doesn’t take into account new viruses or advances in necromancy.” Our belief that the Dark Arts are static and cannot be improved is based on ignorance. What if they were Dark Sciences…much like our current approach to science always looking to improve? Who’s to say some enterprising young necromancer wouldn’t relish being the first to animate fast movers? Certainly our scientist eagerly strive to solve cancer. Could their work (or other experiment) mistakenly invoke some dangerous contagious disease resulting in zombification?

Preparedness would involve considering and preparing for ALL possibilities (fast, slow, science, supernatural). I would sure hate for people that are certain at this moment that fast movers aren’t a possibility to encounter a situation later on and say, “Damn if I’d only prepared for everything.”

We can always examine the root cause of zombification when the outbreak occurs. Example: I am Legend. The book. I hope the movie is good but that’s an aside.

The good news is that an overall strategy to preparedness can work for man-made situations (Oh…like the LA riots) or even other dimension (recently The Mist). I lived in Seattle during the WTO riots (pretty tame btw) and knew I was covered. BTW…if you watch the Mist there’s some pretty solid arguments for having shotguns in your arsenals. But’s that addressing another article on this website.