November 17, 2013

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Save Yourself From The Zombie Apocalypse By Turning Your Home Into A Biolab

Do you use a gun, a sword, a series of elaborate traps involving wild animals, or something else to defeat the zombie horde at your door? Whatever your weapon of choice, I think the great zombie weapon debate misses a crucial point–to even think about battling zombies, you first have to prevent becoming one.

By Kyle Hill

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Do you use a gun, a sword, a series of elaborate traps involving wild animals, or something else to defeat the zombie horde at your door? Whatever your weapon of choice, I think the great zombie weapon debate misses a crucial point--to even think about battling zombies, you first have to prevent becoming one. Over at The Bostson Globe, I explore seven steps to turn your home into a virus-free space, looking to the biolabs where we work on some of the deadliest diseases we know of. Here's an excerpt:

Now shuffling into its fourth season, the popular zombie-themed TV show “The Walking Dead” has recently added another obstacle for its survivors: infectious disease. Drawing on the same terrifying trope that animated “Outbreak,” “Contagion,” and “28 Days Later,” the show’s creators have conjured up not only an unidentified airborne pandemic zombie virus, but also a killer influenza virus like the one that wiped out millions in 1918.

In the world of “The Walking Dead,” not even the CDC knows how to cure the zombie plague. But in real life, humanity does know a thing or two about handling infectious diseases. Around the country and the world, there exist biosafety labs created specifically to handle deadly pathogens like Ebola virus, smallpox, and anthrax, using protocols and designs that prevent infections leaking to the outside world.

Clearly, in the event that the outside world does become an infectious zombie wasteland, there’s a simple solution: Turn your home into an inside-out biolab, quarantining the world outside while your family remains safely within. Herewith, the quick-and-dirty Ideas guide to zombie-proofing your home. (Note: Even if you take all these steps, Ideas does not guarantee that the virus won’t somehow seep in. Still, it’s worth a try.)

You can read the seven steps to virus-proofing your home at The Boston Globehere.

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More Zombie Science:

The Walking Dead Shuffles Into Science Education With Bolts, Brains, and a Physics Quiz

Kyle Hill is a science communicator who specializes in finding the secret science in your favorite fandom. He has a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering and a master's degree in communication research (with a focus on science, health, and the environment) from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Aside from co-hosting Al Jazeera America's science show, TechKnow, Hill is also a freelancer who has contributed to Wired, Nature Education, Popular Science, Slate, io9, Nautilus, and is a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. He manages Nature Education's Student Voices blog, is a research fellow with the James Randi Educational foundation. Email: sciencebasedlife@gmail.com

More by Kyle Hill

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