I might actually be in a production of that. If I get in, I put 40% of my success down to my sideburns.

If I got to choose the apocalypse, like if there was a big apocalyptic spinner. I'd make it land on 'zombie'. I like that scenario the most. If the world is going to be destroyed, there should be zombies.

I agree. And since I live in the middle of Buttfuck Nowhere, Ontario, I should be able to fend of zombies for quite some time.

Until the great undead snake of Toronto's main infestation worms its way up to you.

I live nearly 6 hours from Toronto, 10 minutes outside a town with a population of under 1,000, out in the boonies.

So hopefully any zombies from Toronto would simply drop dead from hunger before they get to me.

Zombies would probably radiate from the cities so it'd be a few days or weeks before you got hit I guess. I live too close to London, I reckon I'd have three days.

Once everyone realised that zombies are dead with no body heat of their own, they'll head north.

Canada will be inundated with millions of American refugees, and they'll bring the infection with them.

The zombies will freeze in winter. And then so will everyone else.

Do viruses die at sub-zero temperatures?

Technically they can't die at all on account of not being alive. But no, they don't. In fact they seem to be more structurally stable at cooler temperatures, though that may vary with species. The freeze-thaw process of water can destroy them, and the more times it occurs, the more are destroyed.

In fact, the avian flu cycle may be perpetuated by virus particles released during the spring thaw. And ancient viruses may wait in permanently frozen water such as the most northerly lakes. They might be released by global warming. We can only hope that the fact that hardly anyone lives near them keeps such strains contained.

Oh, that reminds me. Since many scientists debate that viruses are or aren't alive, I heard there was a theory that they were a form of extra-terrestrial life. What do you think about that? It's something I've wanted your opinion on for weeks. Also, why don't you classify viruses as living?

Mrs Nerg...

They are no more alive than a computer virus is an operating system. It's just a pre-packaged piece of genetic code that hacks the protein synthesis function of a cell and forces it to make more virus particles, destroying them in the process. Many infect particular cells so that the body's immune response and/or normal processes facilitate distribution to other hosts.

But without living cells they are nothing but inert protein capsules.


I don't know anything about them being extra-terrestrial, or what would motivate someone into adopting such a position. Seems unlikely to me.

But surely, the fact that viruses have to infect a host to survive is some proof of their living state? Also, don't viruses evolve? That was one of the real fears about H1N1, that it would evolve into something altogether more lethal. I think they're fascinating to be entirely honest, I should really read up some more on them.

They're not alive. They can't reproduce on their own, and the ability to reproduce is what seperates lichens from rocks.

You've obviously never met my pet rock.

We're a virus and we're alive, aren't we? Rep to whoever gets the movie reference and quotes it correctly (I trust you not to cheat).

Jeez, man. You really think anyone wouldn't recognise a Matrix reference?




The issue with deciding whether viruses are alive is that you first have to define 'life'.

No quote, no rep!

I don't want your rep. I prefer to mock your reference than to play your game.

:(

http://images.wikia.com/villains/ima...assesless).jpg

Big spiders.

Lots of big-ass, angry spiders.

Shaun of The Dead, I see...Great reference.

The Chinese.

Big-ass, pissed off Chinese people. With a lot of speedboats.

If this comes to pass I will find you in the afterlife and be really awkward about it.

I think you mean, tiny, pissed of Chinese people.

I'm Racist and I found that Chinese.

I don't get it.

I'll just shrug and start into a coughing fit so I won't have to explain my prediction.

I believe the world will end when someone divides by zero.

I wonder who actually understands what that means or where the apocalyptic associations come from?

The something calendar, I can't remember what it's called.

In the Swartzchild solution, which describes the spacetime outside of a sphere of matter and also a black hold in a matter-free universe, r is the distance from the center of the sphere/black hole.

ds² = −(1 − 2M/r) dt² + 1/(1 − 2M/r) dr² + r² dΩ2.

As r gets smaller the equation gets closer to infinity. At r=0 it reaches it. Or not, since it's usually considered to be undefined. But in a black hole, r=0 is the singularity. That is where the laws of physics as we understand them break down, because our only way of describing it returns as a divide by zero error.

You know the theory, that the universe is still growing and that one day it'll pull itself back in and cause the big crunch?

That ain't gonna happen. Behold, DARK MATTER!

This has something to do with it, right?

Ah, the MAYAN calendar, that's it.

Big Crunch seems very unlikely at this juncture. Not enough gravity.

No, it's proven to be impossible. Behold, DARK MATTER!

Like I said, unlikely. The might have missed a vital clue that reveals the truth of it, but I don't expect so.

Sorry, I can't hear you because of all the DARK MATTER

Stop saying dark matter.

You know what dark matter is, right, BM?

Isn't that stuff that supposedly makes up the unaccounted mass in the universe? ._.

DARK ENERGY, actually. If it was just DARK MATTER, there'd be plenty enough gravity to draw all of the DARK and light MATTER to collapse back in to itself. It's DARK ENERGY that is pushing all the matter in the universe apart and causing it to accelerate.