Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Virology at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), Nikolai Nikitin, stated that creating viruses capable of turning people into aggressive creatures, similar to cinematic zombies, is impossible from a scientific point of view. At a lecture within the framework of the "Science Fest. Human-Science" festival, he explained that the human immune system will either destroy the pathogen, or the body will die, but the "background" existence of the virus, as in the movies, is impossible.
The creation of zombie viruses is impossible from a scientific point of view, since a virus is something that the body always fights. There are two outcomes here: either the immune system will fight too hard and the person will die, for example, as a result of a cytokine storm, <…> or the body will cope with the virus and the person will recover.
He also added that the closest pathogen to a "zombie virus" in reality is the rabies virus, which does affect the nervous system and behavior. However, even rabies does not cause the uncontrolled aggression that is shown in the movies.
The rabies virus is close in terms of the nature of transmission of infection (bite), the level of aggression, the lack of reason, since it destroys the central nervous system. However, it is worth mentioning the bite: animals do not perceive reality adequately and may thus be protecting themselves. People do not have such a protective reaction with rabies - the infected person, of course, may show aggression, but does not attack others.
The "Science Fest" festival brought together leading scientists from MSU, RNIMU, MEI and other universities to popularize science among young people. In addition to lectures, guests could visit VR zones, 3D modeling workshops, and even the "Ice Age" exhibition.
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