Scientists have managed to lose a couple of mice they infected with the bubonic plague. An American University of Medicine (and Dentistry) have made only one major discovery recently. They discovered the mice were missing.
Having thoroughly researched this by watching "I am Legend", "28 days", Dawn of the Dead", "Braindead" and "Resident Evil", I'd have to say the chances of those mice infecting anyone would have to be remote. Next to impossible. I can't see this happening ever again.
Mind you, this isn't the first time this has happened, with three mice infected with a deadly virus escaping from the same labs back in 2005. They got sick and died.
And then came back as zombie mice.
New Zealanders may also recall the lab scientist who contracted meningococcal disease while working in a Wellington laboratory a couple of years ago, and wonder how massive outbreaks of bird flu and other items might just be caused by bad luck. Or perhaps by space alien military jihadists working a summer job.
And I recall with some fondness the dangerous arrogance of some scientists, who predicted that the rabbit calicivirus would not harm wombats, kangaroos, bush tailed possums and other native Australian fauna because it hadn't killed any such animals in Europe.
The virus was either deliberately released 2 years ahead of schedule, or accidentally released, meaning the scientists were either mad as march hares or merely silly bunnies. Luckily, their guesses were more educated than usual, and it's just been urbanization wiping out the Australian fauna. Whew. That's alright then.
Even earlier in the rabbit wars was the release of myxomatosis to kill off 99% of rabbits. Until they developed immunity. The cause for rabbit control was championed by a pediatrician, Dame Jean Macnamara. I don't know why a pediatrician was involved in mass rabbit genocide. Maybe she just hated bunnies. Hazard of the job perhaps?
Shortly after myxomatosis was introduced, people in New South Wales started coming down with some weird brain disease. It seemed to be related to the release of myxomatosis. A fair conclusion, so some scientists injected themselves with myxomatosis to prove that their brains were not diseased. Faulty perhaps, but not diseased.
The ruse worked, and we never did find out how long these guys actually lived, or if they were zombies to begin with. How would you know with some scientists?
However, that trick reminds me of the scientist who invented leaded petrol. To prove that tetra-ethyl leaded petrol wasn't bad for people, Thomas Midgley Jr. breathed it heavily in very public demonstrations. No surprise he eventually contracted polio and managed to kill himself (with another of his inventions) after first wiping out the ozone layer by also inventing CFC's. Leaded Petrol and CFC's. Thanks Tom.
So if you see any zombie mice lurking in the shadows, do not approach them. They may look cute and mostly harmless, but where there are zombie mice, there are no doubt zombie scientists, and they are just deadly.
Related Link: Calicivirus Escape
Related Link: A plague of mice - oops, sorry - no need to worry, we're professionals - yumm, you have nice brains
PS: No offence intended to our non-zombie scientist friends!
Having thoroughly researched this by watching "I am Legend", "28 days", Dawn of the Dead", "Braindead" and "Resident Evil", I'd have to say the chances of those mice infecting anyone would have to be remote. Next to impossible. I can't see this happening ever again.
Mind you, this isn't the first time this has happened, with three mice infected with a deadly virus escaping from the same labs back in 2005. They got sick and died.
And then came back as zombie mice.
New Zealanders may also recall the lab scientist who contracted meningococcal disease while working in a Wellington laboratory a couple of years ago, and wonder how massive outbreaks of bird flu and other items might just be caused by bad luck. Or perhaps by space alien military jihadists working a summer job.
And I recall with some fondness the dangerous arrogance of some scientists, who predicted that the rabbit calicivirus would not harm wombats, kangaroos, bush tailed possums and other native Australian fauna because it hadn't killed any such animals in Europe.
The virus was either deliberately released 2 years ahead of schedule, or accidentally released, meaning the scientists were either mad as march hares or merely silly bunnies. Luckily, their guesses were more educated than usual, and it's just been urbanization wiping out the Australian fauna. Whew. That's alright then.
Even earlier in the rabbit wars was the release of myxomatosis to kill off 99% of rabbits. Until they developed immunity. The cause for rabbit control was championed by a pediatrician, Dame Jean Macnamara. I don't know why a pediatrician was involved in mass rabbit genocide. Maybe she just hated bunnies. Hazard of the job perhaps?
Shortly after myxomatosis was introduced, people in New South Wales started coming down with some weird brain disease. It seemed to be related to the release of myxomatosis. A fair conclusion, so some scientists injected themselves with myxomatosis to prove that their brains were not diseased. Faulty perhaps, but not diseased.
The ruse worked, and we never did find out how long these guys actually lived, or if they were zombies to begin with. How would you know with some scientists?
However, that trick reminds me of the scientist who invented leaded petrol. To prove that tetra-ethyl leaded petrol wasn't bad for people, Thomas Midgley Jr. breathed it heavily in very public demonstrations. No surprise he eventually contracted polio and managed to kill himself (with another of his inventions) after first wiping out the ozone layer by also inventing CFC's. Leaded Petrol and CFC's. Thanks Tom.
So if you see any zombie mice lurking in the shadows, do not approach them. They may look cute and mostly harmless, but where there are zombie mice, there are no doubt zombie scientists, and they are just deadly.
Related Link: Calicivirus Escape
Related Link: A plague of mice - oops, sorry - no need to worry, we're professionals - yumm, you have nice brains
PS: No offence intended to our non-zombie scientist friends!
The prospect of a worldwide epidemic caused by Scientific misadventure featured in Terry Nations BBC Series ‘The Survivors’ in the mid-70’s(not the crappy U.S adventure thing) No rodents responsible, but who can forget the ‘dark’ opening sequence from the original series of ‘The Survivors’?
ReplyDeleteView Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPKk204nOTk
It scared me, for one.
Paul.
Don't forget "The Day of The Triffids", where genetically modified plants (from Russia) take over the world.
ReplyDeleteThe book, not the useless movie, where the plot has been changed to contain nothing whatsoever about scientific misadventure, and the "heroic American military" that seem to be an essential element of every movie have been added.