Good or bad idea

[Headless Lynx]

Do any of you think that it would be a good or bad idea to hold a zed captive to experiment on it e.g. looking for easy ways to kill them, easy ways to incapacitate them, study them etc.

[Faran Brigo]

Watch "day of the dead", 'nuff said.

[JakAttak]

yea lets avoid that just observe them closely let live subjects go to more skilled military scientists.

[Headless Lynx]

I haven't seen day of the dead and I don't think military scientists would be alive.

[Undead Ryan]

Well you would need some good metal chain chained to a wall for starters. Make sure you measure the chains length and mark with ducktape that wear the zed can reach to. Also if your going to go near him wear a heavy jacket or preferable some body armor of like kevlar of some sort. Keep the Zed its own room with the door heavily locked and bolted. Have a gun by your side at all times when observing him.

That should be what you need to know to keep a Zed as a pet.

[JakAttak]

what he aid only, why keep Z's as pets they aren't exactly cute 'n cuddly.

[zombie2x4]

*pet vioce* Oh but there so sweet. Look at that face how could you say there not cute 'N' cudley :zom3:

[Iron Knuckles]

I don't think its a good idea and I don't think anyone would learn much unless they already have some type of medical, or biological degree under their belt.

[bandits1]

Unless you have a very good reason to hold captive a "live" zombie(want to autopsy one to find exactly how they tick in a search for a cure or something like that) I don't think it's worth the trouble or the risk. Personally, I really don't expect to have the time, resources, or personnel with the proper medical background to make much use of a live specimen.

If you want to find out the best way, or the worst way, to kill/incapacitate them, just pay close attention when you're shooting 'em. Not every shot you fire is going hit them in the head, so watch how they react to being shot in the torso, hip, or leg. I'm sure you'll have lots of opportunity for in-the-field study.

[Faran Brigo]

I think a study about zed decomposition rate through different combinations of microorganisms would be very useful. Perhaps to come up with a "fast rot" chemical catalyst or some sort of spore colonies or bacteria that could be weaponized and used against them. Something like VX (physically, not in effect), a persistent gunk that lasts for awhile on the field and damages or destroys zeds in time. It's not my field, but I've translated a couple of papers on microbiology for a university project and bioessays are not all that complicated as long as you can isolate the variables successfully, and that's about being methodical and having an understanding of what you're trying to do.

But for that, one would only need fresh tissue samples, not a "live" specimen. Then again, maybe whatever's keeping them moving is also slowing down decomp, hard to say.

[bandits1]

I think a study about zed decomposition rate through different combinations of microorganisms would be very useful. Perhaps to come up with a "fast rot" chemical catalyst or some sort of spore colonies or bacteria that could be weaponized and used against them. Something like VX (physically, not in effect), a persistent gunk that lasts for awhile on the field and damages or destroys zeds in time. It's not my field, but I've translated a couple of papers on microbiology for a university project and bioessays are not all that complicated as long as you can isolate the variables successfully, and that's about being methodical and having an understanding of what you're trying to do.

But for that, one would only need fresh tissue samples, not a "live" specimen. Then again, maybe whatever's keeping them moving is also slowing down decomp, hard to say.
Wow...you sure have access to a lot of resources to be able to conduct all that research and be able to develop biological weaponry. Congrats.

I want to be in your group if this ever goes down.

[Faran Brigo]

I don't have them, but any university and some high school labs have all the materials necesary. I doubt people will be raiding those. You can also get them in specialized stores which again, are not useful to most people and will probably be left almost intact. The microbe samples could come from the zombie tissue itself. Bioweapons don't require much technology to produce them (that's why we hear about them being developed by third world countries and even terrorist groups in the news), you can culture many microbes on milk/egg derivates. Delivery systems do however, but since zombies don't use weapons and they're supposed to work in breaking down dead tissue (living tissue should be fine) we wouldn't need to launch it in bombs or missiles and simple spray should suffice.

Isolating the microbes and gene splicing, causing mutations whew, that takes some very powerful computers, lots of know-how and rare equipment, not to mention extensive expertise, but the idea isn't to MAKE them, just breed the ones that are already there artificially. It's like growing clostridium botulinum without the hard part of extracting botulinum toxin.

[Undead Ryan]

I think a study about zed decomposition rate through different combinations of microorganisms would be very useful. Perhaps to come up with a "fast rot" chemical catalyst or some sort of spore colonies or bacteria that could be weaponized and used against them. Something like VX (physically, not in effect), a persistent gunk that lasts for awhile on the field and damages or destroys zeds in time. It's not my field, but I've translated a couple of papers on microbiology for a university project and bioessays are not all that complicated as long as you can isolate the variables successfully, and that's about being methodical and having an understanding of what you're trying to do.

But for that, one would only need fresh tissue samples, not a "live" specimen. Then again, maybe whatever's keeping them moving is also slowing down decomp, hard to say.I don't think thats too bad of an idea, pretty sensible. Create a syrem or Toxin that you could use to melt down the zombies instantaneously either by an arial attack and throwing it down or go in on foot with chemical/radiation suits and put the toxin the the weed killer containers and do it that way.

[Headless Lynx]

Ha ha lol, this is great :clap:. I didn't think that people would be thinking of toxins and biological weapons. All I had to think of was to find an easy way to kill the f******s :) perhaps then we would be able to find the best CQB weapon. Carry on.

[Headless Lynx]

Ha ha lol, this is great :clap:. I didn't think that people would be thinking of toxins and biological weapons. All I had to think of was to find an easy way to kill the f******s :) perhaps then we would be able to find the best CQB weapon. Carry on.

[Undead Ryan]

Double Post much eh....Just kidding. Well if you were to study it, don't you think you would want to know about toxins that could be vital to killing zeds easier than bullets to the head.

[Faran Brigo]

Same thing, using chemicals or microbes is an easier way to kill them, I just thought outside the box.

[Dave Of The Dead]

I think studying zombies through the scope of my crossbow is good enough for me.

[JakAttak]

Field study is the way to go.

[zombie2x4]

What about aireal studies?

[Cassus Putesco]

Hmm. If you could find out what makes a zombie know what's living and what's not, then you could create something which has the "living signature" on it that would attract zombies to it. It could have some sort of explosive in it, so a bunch of them could be knocked away at once (some killed, and a zombie can't go very fast towards you with just an arm to haul itself). Or some sort of material that would either be very absorbent to make the zombie explode from the inside, or something that reacted with organic material to create a ton of gas, bringing it to the same effect.... I mean, if they didn't burp.

[mattifikation]

You would have to make it be some kind of mold or fungus, I think. Bacteria and virii probably wouldn't spread far enough through the zombie's body without a working circulatory system in their host to move them around.

[JakAttak]

Try it when you are dead of infection cause you can't contain it I'll make sure to laugh at you're bodies before cremating you.

[Faran Brigo]

Bacteria don't need a circulatory system, rotting meat as far as I know doesn't rot in layers. But yes, I was thinking fungi too.

[JakAttak]

How will you contain it as far as I know most people don't have BioChem containment facilities on their property!!!!

[Faran Brigo]

...*sighs* Living organisms are immune to decomposition microbes, it's the reason why you don't reek of rotting flesh right now.

[Dave Of The Dead]

You know if you break your arm and have a cast on for so long and when you finally get it taken off, you have gross skin mold? Do you think zombies could develop certain mold spores on them like anthrax or some crazy stuff like that?

[JakAttak]

containment would come into play again.

[Faran Brigo]

You know if you break your arm and have a cast on for so long and when you finally get it taken off, you have gross skin mold? Do you think zombies could develop certain mold spores on them like anthrax or some crazy stuff like that?

Anthrax is a bacteria, not a mold (fungi), and although the spores are capable of remaining dormant for decades they will NOT live on dead flesh. NOTHING but decomposition related microbes could survive on feeding off zombies. If that wasn't true then likely the best antized weapon would be buzzards or insects.

So unless the zombie was already infected with anthrax when it died, no. A zombie has the same chances of spontaneously developing some sort of exotic superbug as roadkill does. If they do, then you have a huge can of worms on your hands since, just because you don't research it doesn't mean it's not there. In the extremely unlikely event that happens, wouldn't you rather KNOW that there's something besides the usual "don't let them bite" precaution that you should be taking?

[JakAttak]

but if you weaponized decomp bacteria and couldn't contain it couldn't it break through our immune system and essentially rotting us alive?

[Faran Brigo]

Not any more than any other decomp microbe would. What you're talking about is not decomposition microbe but necrotizing bacteria , and those still feed on living cells so they would not survive in a zombie's body.

Weaponization merely means readying it to be used as a weapon, it does not mean "create a super pathogen". In this case, it would simply mean isolating the organisms that best break down zombie tissues and then finding a way to exploit that characteristic to use them against zombies like spraying nutrients for that specific organism, or chemicals that would stimulate explosive growth, or even try to saturate the environment in which the zombies move with that.

The one flaw I can see in this is that, it's likely that it will affect all dead matter, including biodegradable materials I.E. food.

[mattifikation]

Decomposition bacteria don't live off of living things. When you take a cast off, it stinks because of the dead skin cells that were rotting, not because of the living cells in your arm.

We're not talking about altering what the bacteria eat, we're talking about finding a way to quickly spread it to all the zeds.

[JakAttak]

well what about dispersal?

[Faran Brigo]

Delivery systems do however, but since zombies don't use weapons and they're supposed to work in breaking down dead tissue (living tissue should be fine) we wouldn't need to launch it in bombs or missiles and simple spray should suffice.

Two words, crop duster

Given enough means to work with however I'm sure we could come up with something fancier, like crude pressurized CO/2-Septic solution binary warheads.

[Jimmy]

I have an Idear, how about instead of trying to comeup with a surem or a chemical/biological weapon to kill the zeds. You shoot them in the head. Do you have any clue how long it would take to make a weapon that could combat the virus? lol In my opinion you would be wasting valuble time and effort on something that would probably never work. You guys can stay in the lab while I go in the field and blow some zombies away. =p

[Faran Brigo]

Good plan. Lets see... With the earth's population being 6 billion, if only half of those become zombies, if you kill them at a rate of 1 every 3 seconds, and assuming you're in some kind of impenetrable magic bubble that lets you take potshots at zeds without them ever being able to reach you, you have 3 billion rounds of ammunition linked together and not one of those is a dud or a miss, and own a magic gun that never breaks down, overheats, or needs cleaning or maintenance of any kind...

You're going to spend about 96 years exclusively killing zombies without bathroom breaks, eating, sleeping, falling ill or basically doing anything that isn't shooting moving bullseyes for the duration. So... I'll pass. The funny thing is, I would bet a good sum of money that what you said, more or less, has been frequently uttered against technology, you know, the thing that allowed us to go from dying of old age in fear at the age of 22 to becoming the dominant lifeform on the planet.

By the by, nobody said anything about combating whatever makes them rise, we're talking about rotting them to oblivion.

[Running From Zombies]

I'd say it would be a bad idea to do experiments on zombies, particularly if you don't have any idea what you're looking for. Depending on the circumstance, your goal is to survive, period. If the world hasn't collapsed then experimenting on zombies nets you very little; you should be trying to get to safety.

If the world has been taken over, experiments on an undead zombie would still be fruitless if you didn't know what you were doing. And supposing you did, you'd have to balance learning from them and a very really chance of getting killed. I just don't see anything that useful to be learned for such a risk, assuming fast zombies. Slow zombies it would be quite a bit easier.

[Faran Brigo]

Oh yeah, fast zombies are best studied post... I'm not sure if "post mortem" would be technically correct but anyway, fast zombies are just too dangerous to study.

[Jimmy]

I wouldn't go and try to kill every zombie on the face of the earth. >_>

Only the ones in my personal space bubble. =p

[JakAttak]

besides that other 3 billion probably aren't sitting on their asses watching jimmy kill Z's. I sure as hell won't.

[mattifikation]

I think rotting them is a good idea. I'm sure it'll stink ass, but it's better than being eaten.

[JakAttak]

but rotting bodies aren't to sanitary.

[Faran Brigo]

As opposed to walking zombies also rotting?

[JakAttak]

saving the world from Z's would be pointless if the survivors die of infection.

[Faran Brigo]

Which is why I'm guessing survivors wouldn't just hang around decomposing corpses, instead choosing the saner alternative of deploying the bioweapons then sitting back for a few months and entering the area once the zombies are disabled and can be burned or otherwise properly disposed of without the risk of being bitten. Or just waiting around a bit longer until there's only bone.

You're going to have the same sanitary issues, the difference is the zombies won't be trying to eat you and instead they'll be sort of just actually dead.

[bandits1]

saving the world from Z's would be pointless if the survivors die of infection.
I assume a world in which there are billions of decomposing zombies walking around and biting folks is already pretty unsanitary. I wouldn't worry too much about anything I do making it worse.


http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6946/lysol20rec04650rf7.jpg
...here you go.

[mattifikation]

Lysol would be counterproductive to the idea of trying to rot them with microbes :-p

[bandits1]

Lysol would be counterproductive to the idea of trying to rot them with microbes :-p
That was actually for JakAttak who's concerned about germs.

[Faran Brigo]

Lets hope zombies never figure out how to use disinfectant then :p

[JakAttak]

hey I just like to air on the side of caution. I'm pretty sure the saying goes.