Zombie Apocalypse: Sooner than we think?

As I spent my weekend watching zombie movies, and playing Dead Rising (a zombie apocalypse game) I thought up a major fear. In the game Dead Rising, A Governmental attempt at lowering the cost of breeding cattle, they accidentally create a wasp which then spawns parasitic larvae, leading to a zombie apocalypse. Despite the ridiculousness of this plot, it reminded me of a news article I saw on the Wall Street Journal.

"Heralding a potential new era in biology, scientists for the first time have created a synthetic cell, completely controlled by man-made genetic instructions..."

What I found interesting was that the DNA was programmed using a computer, and was simply injected into a bacterium, taking it over and creating artifical life. It may just be the zombie nerd in me talking, but that sounds to me like the start of what could become a zombie virus.

Bland, By Eric. "It's Alive! Artificial Life Springs From Manmade DNA." Discovery News: Earth, Space, Tech, Animals, Dinosaurs, History. 20 May 2010. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

Hotz, Robert Lee. "Scientists Create First Synthetic Cell - WSJ.com." Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com. 21 May 2010. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .