#fringe science

Uh oh, looks like you've stumbled on one of my 🔥hot takes🔥! In my only-moderately humble opinion, I think the entire approach of cryptozoology is missing the mark. My opinions on this topic are louder than my facts, so please feel free to put me in my place, anybody. Cryptozoology tries to place a para-scientific framework, and therefore a monotheistic worldview (sorry atheists, that's a rant for another time), on beings that don't fit into that framework. These beings almost always belong in other frameworks, contexts, and cultures than the one cryptozoologists are trying to pin and box them into. Or they defy such pigeonholing entirely. IOW, I think it's a waste of time. This crisis of perspectives is most obvious in settler-colonial areas, where (usually white) settlers are not only looking for scientific, singular-truth explanations for phenomena that exists well outside those bounds, but are also approaching this phenomena with either a complete disregard for or a mere decorative sprinkling of indigenous knowledge and lore. In other words, settler cryptozoologists are saying things like "whoa, what's this strange mysterious animal that isn't in any of the animal books?" and ignoring the centuries' (or longer) experiences of native peoples who know exactly what the being is (at least to them) and have system or relationship around engagement with it.

Hybrid Multi-Layered Vampiric Disease Model

See my Masterlist for my other WIPs

See my BFTI intro post for more about this wip.

See my Vampirism post for the rest of the speculative biology on this disease.

I like the Multi-Stage Infection Model for Vampirism, and decided that that was the way forward. That way, Instead of a single cause, I want to create a multi-layered biological mechanism that explains both the undead aspects and the monstrous physical changes. I think that the combination of retrovirus as a susceptibility factors and a prion disease that functions as a trigger, in combination with a tertiary catalyst such as a fungal infection or (endo)symbiosis is the most likely pathway of this particular disease model. This model proposes that vampirism is not caused by a recent infection, but rather by the reactivation of an ancient endogenous retrovirus (ERV) embedded in human DNA. In most people, this ERV remains dormant and harmless; however, only individuals with specific genetic markers-regulatory elements that can activate these viral genes-are susceptible to transformation. The process is triggered by exposure to a particular prion disease, which induces misfolding of proteins that normally suppress the ERV, thereby unleashing its effects. Once activated, the ERV hijacks host metabolism and physiology, resulting in hallmark vampiric traits such as blood consumption, enhanced strength, and increased longevity.

The model also allows for a third layer: fungal symbiosis. The changes induced by the retrovirus may alter the host’s immune system, enabling opportunistic fungal colonization or even the synthesis of fungal-like proteins within the host. This integration could enhance tissue regeneration, environmental resilience, and potentially influence host behaviour-mirroring real-world examples of endosymbiosis and host manipulation found in nature. If  the fungal pathogen is an component, it may be induced later on, perhaps as part of the ritualistic aspect associated with vampirism. There's a lot of stories and legends about the origins of vampires, and a lot of books and shows and movies have different ideas as to how to make a vampire. Perhaps part of that involves infection with a fungal pathogen, which could have presumably occurred naturally depending on how it's contracted. Say, people with the genetic predisposition are infected with the retrovirus or prion, and then that changes their behaviour as well as several biological processes, maybe leading them to seek out the environment where they can be subsequently infected with the fungus that would then reinforce the behavioural and biological changes and processes, possibly exacerbating them or inducing new changes. In my head it started out as the prion infection triggering the dormant (endogenous) retrovirus which then starts changing the person into a vampire, and with those changes comes the need to go underground/seek out dark places. Would make sense in the context of vampire mythos where they rise from the grave or live in caves. In a cave they could be exposed to fungi that trigger a tertiary cascade of changes, and this time it possibly modulates/regulates what changes occur, or possibly how extreme those changes are. This could tie in to how feral vampires become, with those that aren’t exposed to the fungi becoming feral and thus dying out sooner, whereas the ones that are infected with the fungi learn to curb their impulses and thus live longer and pass on their ‘strain’ of vampirism. This could have lead to vampires unknowingly exposing themselves to the fungi through rituals adopted over time that are associated with making new vampires. Perhaps there’s special places where they make their new vampires, or perhaps there are rites associated with newborn vampires being initiated into the coven that end up exposing them to this fungus which they then get a symbiotic relationship with as it were.

Evolutionarily, this system is self-limiting and adaptive. The ancient ERV may have once conferred advantages to early humans, such as improved night vision or metabolic efficiency, explaining its persistence in the genome. Only those with the right genetic predisposition who encounter the prion trigger undergo transformation, keeping the vampire population rare. The optional fungal layer accounts for the diversity of vampire types in myth, ranging from purely viral vampires to those with additional regenerative or behavioral enhancements. This multi-layered mechanism draws on real biological precedents-such as ERV activation, prion-induced epigenetic changes, and endosymbiotic relationships-making it a scientifically plausible foundation for vampirism as a complex, multi-factorial disease.

Below is a more detailed explanation of the hybrid, multi-layered disease model that includes the initial trigger of the endogenous retrovirus by means of the prion disease, as well as the possible subsequent fungal symbiosis.

If you loved X-files...you will most certainly love the TV show Fringe. It is a show with the most unique and out of the box scenarios that one could ever imagine. It is a 5 season series that will keep you on your toes and wanting more.

Fringe is almost a modern day X-files, although X-files bases its episodes and events on 2 FBI special agents that solve the unexplained and mind-bending cases based in the extraterrestrial. Fringe instead encompasses a primary Fringe Team composed of FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, once-institutionalized scientist Dr. Walter Bishop, his jack-of-all-trades son, Peter, and FBI Junior Agent Astrid Farnsworth. The four of them work as a team using fringe science to investigate a series of unexplained and often ghastly occurrences that are related to a parallel universe.

This show primarily focuses on the intertwined lives of Special Agent Dunham, Dr. Walter Bishop, and Peter Bishop. As we watch the relationships of these three characters grow, we discover along with them that their history goes much farther back than they realize. During this time Special Agent Dunham comes to learn that she was subjected to an experimental drug trial as a child, along with a group of several other children. Soon after discovering that she was subject to such experiments, Agent Dunham discovers that the result of this trial implanted special abilities that had become dormant over the years. Dunham's special abilities are eventually activated after a series of stressful, mid-bending events.

Later in the show, the Fringe Team discover that all of their unexplained and ghastly fringe cases are related to a parallel universe. They uncover a silent war that has been ongoing between their universe and the parallel universe, a war that was first ignited when both Olivia and Peter were mere children. As the show progresses we see how the Fringe Team works to put an end to the war between the parallel universes and protect the collapse of the two worlds as they know in.

“For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that human brain organoids are able to form functional connections with mouse brain tissue and respond to visual stimuli. After implanting the human “mini brains” into the animals’ cortices, the study authors used a variety of imaging techniques to confirm the formation of “human-mouse synapses.”

In recent years, human brain organoids have emerged as a promising model for the study of neurological development and disorders. Created from stem cells, these miniature cortical replicas produce their own neural activity, but had never previously been observed linking up with surrounding tissues to participate in a synchronized response to external stimuli.

The main barrier to demonstrating this phenomenon has always been a technological one, as existing electrode arrays are not subtle enough to record such nuanced activity. However, the researchers were able to overcome this hurdle by using platinum nanoparticles to create transparent graphene microelectrode arrays.