11-25-2009, 10:02 PM
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Are Vampires Real? The Science Behind the Myth
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From countless depictions of "Dracula" to recent movies like "Twilight" and "New Moon," the vampire has been a staple in books and film. But is there a scientific basis for the folklore? Is there fact behind the myth of the blood-sucking creature of the night?
Decomposing bodies that leaked blood must have frightened gravediggers in the past. Tropical diseases and insects that suck blood, leaving corpses wasted and desiccated, must have seemed scary to other cultures. It's a short jump from fearful to superstitious, and there are clear biological and anthropological conditions that likely led to these fears.
Applying science to a mostly fictional creature is nothing new, says Dr. Katherine Ramsland, who teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University and wrote the book, "The Science of Vampires." Addressing the origins of the myth, she asks:
"Does it derive from mythology that addresses a basic fear of death, a lack of knowledge about body decomposition, an undefined disease, or perhaps the symptom of a mental illness now known as 'clinical vampirism'? That is, do these narratives express some society's need for myth, or might a vampire tale be an attempt to explain a frightening phenomenon actually witnessed?"
SLIDESHOW: Hunter vs. Slayer: The Best of Hollywood's Vampires
To find the truth behind the stories that fuel TV shows like "The Vampire Diaries," we turned to science. We went straight to the scientists themselves — biologists, anthropologists and physicists — to find out once and for all whether vampires could have existed, and how accurate today's movies might be.
Avoiding sunlight: Several elements of the vampire legend are based around facts, artfully combined into a scary whole. Vampires are commonly depicted as creatures of the dark, being highly sensitive to sunlight. This is the case for people afflicted with porphyria, a well-known condition that makes one allergic to the sun.When exposed to the sun, people with porphyria develop burning blisters and swelling of the skin.
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Porphyria is extremely rare, of course, but not so its milder cousin, polymorphic light eruption. This type of allergic reaction is characterized by the formation of bumpy and itchy rashes on sun-exposed skin. But it's not actually an allergy to the sun, rather an immune reaction.
Immortality: Dracula is commonly regarded as not just long-lived, but literally immortal. Ramsland thinks there is science to explain this aspect of the myth, noting research on what scientists call "immortalized cells." The aging process is partly predicated on the lifespan of our cells; as long as they continue dividing, we remain young, and structures in our cells called telomeres play a part in cellular division.
What controls the telomeres? Ramsland explains that "through the activity of an enzyme known as telomerase, the youth-preserving activity of the telomeres can be extended. In other words, there's an actual chemical in our cells that may hold the secret to eternal youth, and if so, it may explain how vampires can live forever."
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