Gypsy moths have been acting weird lately, and according this article, aptly titled How a brain-manipulating virus turns caterpillars into zombies, via Ars Technica, there’s a reason: baculovirus. The peaceful little gypsy moths no longer want to just hide away in cool soil and stay safe from lurking birds looking for a quick snack, but now they want to DIE AND RAIN DOWN THEIR DISEASE ON ALL CREATURES.

“…baculovirus…The aptly named “tree top disease” makes the infected gypsy moth caterpillar climb to the top of a tree to die, liquefy, and release millions of infective virus particles.”

These nasty particles then get swept up by rain and wind and find they ways onto everything. Yup, caterpillars could be the beginning of a full fledge zombie invasion. Okay, maybe not, but… ?

Wired Science just recently posted their most popular stories of 2009, with number six being Mathematical Model for Surviving a Zombie Attack. Here’s an optimistic quote:

“If the timescale of the outbreak increases, then the result is the doomsday scenario: an outbreak of zombies will result in the collapse of civilization, with every human infected, or dead…”

This is a completely engrossing article and a great way to start off the new year. So remember kids, zombies = we’re fucked. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Could this be the future of zombie killing technology? An enterprising weapons enthusiast built this custom rifle with chainsaw bayonet. And it actually works – check out the several youtube demonstration videos.

Last year we told you about a species of wasp that could turn cockroaches into zombies, and today Discover Magazine has a gallery of 8 other animals that have the ability to be turned into zombies by their parasitic hosts. This is just fascinating science and it’s mind-boggling how these parasites have evolved into such small niches.

Ok, last week it was zombie cockroaches and this week it’s zombie mice? Scientists working for the Pentagon have found a way to put mice into a not-quite-alive, not-quite-dead state. The mice stop breathing, stop bleeding, but are still alive and can be re-animated. They are working on finding a way to do this to humans so that they can save lives when someone undergoes massive trauma.

Read that again – the US government is working on a way to create human zombies. Isn’t this basically the plot of The Return of the Living Dead?

Thanks to Jef for the link!

This sounds like something out of a science fiction novel but scientists recently discovered a species of wasp that zombifies cockroaches. Once stung, the cockroach looses it’s free will and the wasp will actually lead the slaved cockroach to its nest were it will be eaten by larvae. Gross stuff but fascinating at the same time. The wasp uses a chemical that blocks certain chemical receptors in the brain. If this is possible in insects, could human zombies be far behind?