According to The Register:

[University of Washington researcher Sapna] Cheryan and her colleagues arranged multiple experiments and surveys among hundreds of non-computing-subjects students at Washington uni. Questionnaires were filled in in different rooms - one previously prepared with a science fiction poster, games kit and Coke cans; one instead with "nature" and "art" wall graphics, books and coffee cups. This stage dressing was ostensibly not part of the tests, but nonetheless it had a powerful effect on decisions by the ladies taking part.

Specifically, women filling in questionnaires in the stereotypically geeky room were significantly less likely to express interest in computer-science related studies or careers. having seen both environments, and then hypothetically offered a chance to work in an all female team in either kind of room, they still went for the non-geeky atmos.

Cheryan goes on to say that we want to attract more people to computer science, and the presence of Chewbacca action figures scared off both men and women from the discipline.

What the article doesn't mention until towards the end, though, is that the people taking part in this study weren't computer-science students — they were studying other subjects. (Do you really want to attract English majors to computer science?) Add to that the loads of biases that seem to have been jammed into this study (like the idea that liking science fiction is "masculine" and science-fiction toys are automatically a boys-only thing) that it's hard to take it seriously.

It sucks, though, that companies are receiving these kinds of messages, like the idea that women only want to look at images of nature. (Maybe a nice waterfall, or a kitten with a sign saying "HANG IN THERE BABY"?) It just seems intrinsically silly — women who are interested in computer science will be, ipso facto, geeks, and that means they'll be interested in geeky stuff. So let's not rush to tear down the giant robot wall art just yet.

Patrick J. Kiger, a journalist and blogger for the Science Channel, has been criticized for focusing on technologies in his column Is This a Good Idea? that currently exist only in the realm of speculative fiction. To answer those critics, Kiger looks at the recent study by mathematicians in Ottawa as to the best response to a zombie outbreak. What good, Kiger asks, is it to study a phenomenon that we know does not actually exist?

Kiger spends some time contemplating whether or not we might actually have to fear attacks from the flesh-eating undead, but ultimately, his point is that the possibility of a literal zombie attack is irrelevant to the value of such studies. Studying zombie attacks is valuable, he argues, precisely because they represent a level of crisis that we do not have any experience with, and our ability to logically respond to such a crisis:

But whether real or imagined, a zombie attack is a potent metaphor. Think of the undead not as klutzy cannibals but as the X factor, the Rumsfeldian "unknown unknown," the totally unexpected menace that suddenly confronts us. (The Canadian researchers' mathematical modeling of zombie attacks maybe seem like an elaborate joke, but in actuality it was led by a mathematician whose expertise is in studying the spread of actual epidemics such as malaria and West Nile Virus, and its underlying purpose was to demonstrate the progression of a rapidly spreading, unfamiliar public health threat.) In recent experience we've been confronted increasingly with such X factors, ranging from AIDS to terrorism to climate change. And time and again, we've been exposed as dangerously unprepared to deal with such paradigm-shattering threats. I'm not talking about stocking up on bottled water and Spam, having a battery-powered radio, a shotgun and the ingredients for Molotov cocktails. I'm talking about our societal tendency to do exactly what most of the characters in the Romero movies do when confronted with a zombie attack - i.e., to become hysterical and fight among themselves for control of the group, which ultimately leads to them squandering resources and opportunities for survival, and undermining each others' efforts. I think we need to find a way to tone down the cable TV news-induced histrionics and learn to cooperate towards a common objective, before some real menace arrives to do us in.

Is This A Good Idea? Preparedness for Zombie Attacks? [Discovery Blogs]

"In Case of Zombies" image from Threadless.

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa created a silicon-gold circuit by embedding gold nanoparticles in a silicon wafer. They then had 40 cancer patients and 56 people with healthy lungs fill mylar bags with healthy air, and had the air blown over the silicon-gold circuits.

Tumorous growths tear certain chemicals out of tissue, so that air in cancer-affected lungs contains molecules that healthy lungs do not. The research team chose to track four such chemicals: decane, trimethylbenzene, ethylbenzene, and heptanol. When the chemicals bind to the organic coat on the nanowires, they change the circuit's electrical resistance in a predictable way.

With some tweaking, the team hopes that the device will prove a reliable test for lung cancer, and, since the the circuits can be reused, it would be a relatively inexpensive, not to mention portable, method of detection. But aside from its convenience, breath testing could have another thing up on existing methods of lung cancer diagnosis: it could detect cancer too small to show up on an X-ray or CT scan, meaning it might detect lung cancer at a much earlier stage.

A Breathalyzer for Cancer [ScienceNOW]

The chart above shows Nielsen Ratings that measure audience numbers on the Y axis, and every episode of Battlestar by season and episode number on the X axis. (We left out the final two episodes, as that data wasn't in yet when we did the chart.)

One thing you'll notice right away is that the show's ratings decline very gradually, which is a normal shape for audience stats to take with any TV series. So that doesn't indicate that the show went downhill. It just means that most TV shows tend to shed audience numbers over a period of years. Another thing you'll notice, if you cross-reference with this handy episode guide on IMDB, is that many of the biggest audience spikes are associated with season finales and season premieres. These "event" episodes don't always reflect the trends we're looking for here.

So now there's the question of how you determine which episodes are shark jumpers. Obviously this is fairly subjective, but we did have at least one semi-objective measure. We ran a poll last year asking readers which episodes of BSG they thought were shark-jumpy. So three of the episodes we list above got votes from 500 or more people who thought they were shark jumpers. These were: "Epiphanies," (where Roslin was "cured" of cancer by hybrid Hera's fetus blood); "Crossroads, Pt. 2" (when Bob Dylan was in the cupboards and we learned who the Final Five are); and "He That Believeth In Me" (when Baltar founded a love cult).

Other shark-jumpy episodes were fingered by opinion-makers we polled informally at South by Southwest's Interactive Conference this year. These included "Collaborators," when Baltar went to live on the Cylon Base Ship, which many critics also agreed was a bad turning point for the show; and "Unfinished Business," the boxing episode which divided fans over the question of "good or ass." Pretty much everyone agreed that "No Exit," where we find out about Ellen and Cavil's icky relationship, was a stinker. And I personally threw in the episode "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Pt. 1," when crazy Roslin decides to get the Arrow of Apollo and stick it in the Temple of Athena, because it was a terrible low point in season 1. Just because a show recovers from a shark jump doesn't mean it isn't one.

So now to the actual question at hand: Did the show suffer when it jumped those sharks? If people were recoiling from a shark jump, you'd expect to see audiences decline or at least not go up after that episode. Not too surprisingly, nearly all the shark jumps were followed by such a decline or flatline. In fact, the only shark jumpers not followed by declines were "Unfinished Business," which many people actually didn't hate (so it might be an outlier example); and "Crossroads, Pt. 2," which as you'll recall was followed by the TV movie "Razor," which aired so long after Crossroads that it became an event episode rather than a strict follow-on.

As a result of our brilliant, semi-scientific research, I think we can tentatively say that audiences are in fact fairly reactive when a show jumps the shark. They immediately tune out the following episode, not even giving it a second chance for an episode or two. We also see that they will come back, however, especially if the show goes off the air for a while and returns with an event episode like "Razor."

CONCLUSIONS: Using Battlestar Galactica as an example, we've examined how audiences respond when a show jumps the shark. What we found is that a significant percentage of them almost immediately abandon the show for an episode or two. But then we see them returning again, often in larger numbers. TV watchers are more discerning than you might think, but only in the short term. They won't come back the following week if you serve them something that tastes like shark with jump sauce. But they might return to chow down in two weeks, and invite their friends along.

APPENDIX: Battlestar Galactica Nielsen Ratings By Episode (Compiled by Alyssa Johnson!)

Answering questions from a would-be science fiction writer, Griffith talked about how she approached research for her Nebula and Lambda award-winning novel Slow River. It turns out she was researching the topic before she even knew she was writing a novel:

Do I research? Yes. Half the time I don't know that that's what I'm doing. I'll find myself being interested in something close to hand—when Kelley worked at an environmental engineering company, she brought home magazines such as Garbage and Pollution Engineering and a catalogue (they called it a pigalog) of industrial things like emergency eye baths, drench showers, and neoprene protective gear. I inhaled them all. It got me thinking. I saw a faint outline of Slow River appearing from the mist. Then I began research in earnest.

By contrast, Caitlin R. Kiernan came up with a story about zeppelins on Mars, which is appearing in her new collection A Is For Alien, and then went about researching how it would work:

I spent several hours researching zeppelins, Martian aerodynamics, hydrazine, nitrogen tetroxide oxidizers, entomopters, and the problems one encounters with propellers and rotors in a thin atmosphere. Turns out, putting zeps on Mars is not as easy as I'd hoped (but nothing ever is). Consider the following:

On Mars, with a sea level equivalent pressure of only 0.7 percent that of Earth, a ten-foot cube of hydrogen would weigh about seven one thousandths as much as on Earth, or about 3.5 thousandths of a pound. But even the Martian atmosphere, at a near vacuum, only weighs in at about a tenth of a pound. So the net difference in weight would be about ninety-six and a half thousandths of a pound. This means that to get a full 73 pounds of lift, we would need about 760 such cubes. Fortunately, Martian gravity is only thirty seven percent that of Earth. So we need even fewer cubes, about 280 cubes. So to carry the same payload on Mars as on Earth we are looking at a design that begins almost 300 times as large as a similar vehicle on Earth [italics mine - CRK]. This sounds extreme, but amounts to a cube of hydrogen on Mars of 67 feet on a side producing our net 27 pounds of lift. Ignoring such pesky add-ons such as structural weight, a dirigible made to lift one person of 200 Earth pounds, or 74 Martian pounds, would need about three Mars-sized cubes for lift. Four people would need a dozen, plus another dozen for payload, and another couple of dozen for fuel and structure. This means a spherical balloon would need to hold almost 50 volumes of a third of a million cubic feet each to be useful. A dirigible of 17 million cubic feet is called for, about triple the size of the Hindenburg.

And I need zeps that can carry dozens of people and a significant cargo payload.

It sounds like maybe doing the research first, and then coming up with the story afterwards, is the easier route. But not necessarily the more fascinating one.

[Caitlin R. Kiernan link via Marooned: Books On Mars.]

In response to a reader question about how to research science fiction stories, Megan writes:

I follow pretty much the same procedure as I would if I were preparing to write a paper: find reputable sources (websites or books), try to make sure that I understand the basics of the topic, and use that knowledge to explore the potential consequences of evolving technology. Most of my science fiction stories focus on biological and medical sciences, where scientific journals like Nature (accessible online at nature.com) and topic-specific non-profit organizations (such as the Society for Neuroscience) can provide a wealth of information. I imagine that similar resources exist for other topics, like robotics. If you are really serious about the technological details of a story, many professors at major universities have websites with e-mail addresses that you can use to ask them questions. I have never done this myself, but if you are courteous and express an interest in their field, most scientists would probably be eager to help.

She adds that not every science fiction story requires that level of research — if you're just writing a story about a boy and his space duck, all you really need to do is make sure the space duck comes from a planet capable of supporting life. [Teen Ink]

Researchers study apes living at the Trust to learn more about their intellect, behavior, and capacity for communication. Bonobo siblings Panbanisha and Kanzi have a rather advanced capacity for language, able to understand human speech, comprehend abstract concepts, and communicate with humans through a lexigram keyboard. Apes are given the choice as to whether to participate in activities like painting, but the researchers have found that the apes perceive the experience as fulfilling, allowing them to convey thoughts, senses, and memories without the limitations of verbal language.

“The apes’ daily lives are enriched immeasurably by these creative opportunities,” [project overseer Peter] Clay said. “Choosing canvases and colors, and choosing to make small, careful marks or big dramatic ones, these are all within their control.

In the Apes Helping Apes project, the Trust sells the apes’ painting, some created in collaboration with artist Sue Buck, to support ape conservation in the wild. The above painting by Panbanisha is currently up for auction online.

[Great Ape Trust via New Scientist]

The Gundam Academy is pulling its virtual faculty from experts in the fields of astrophysics, engineering, anthropology, medicine, linguistics, and urban planning. Their intention is to study the lessons and ideas contained in the Gundam franchise to usher in social and technological advances:

Shinya Hashizume, a professor of urban planning and architecture at Osaka Prefectural University, said: “Gundam presents the reader with many challenges that we will encounter. It is vital to begin conducting research into these. Scientific research in Japan desperately needs a flow of new ideas…”

Shinichi Nakasuka, a professor of astronautics at the University of Tokyo and one of the founders of the academy, said: “Studying fiction is an excellent way to get ideas about the future. Scientists often restrict their way of thinking to what they factually know. The comic shows how ordinary people without much deep scientific knowledge can come up with very good ideas.”

Gundam’s mechanized mobile suits in particular have already driven innovation. MIT aeronautics professor Dava Newman's sleek, counter-pressurized BioSuit struck many as Gundam-inspired, as has NASA’s foray into nuclear thermal rocket research.

Gundam cartoon academy to turn science fiction into reality in Japan [Times Online]

Mostly we've focused on movies from the U.S. and Europe, and we've included the living dead among zombies — so mummies are included, but vampires and ghosts aren't. Obviously as you look at this chart, you have to correct somewhat for the fact that more movies are being made as we get closer to the present, and (more importantly) there are better records of those movies with better tagging. So it's easier to research movies with zombies in them if you're looking at productions from the 1980s onward. In addition, there's been a huge boom in indie and low-budget horror movies over the past ten years, and that undoubtedly accounts somewhat for the giant spike you see during the last 8 years or so.

Still, even correcting for the fact that there are more movies being made today, you can see that there are distinctive spikes in zombie popularity - and they always seem to fall slightly after a huge political or social event has caused mass fear, chaos, or suffering. That's why World War II, Vietnam, and the current Iraq War are all followed by a zombie rush at theaters. Obviously, if you're going to look at these historical correlations, you have to consider that movies inspired by a real-life event aren't going to show up in theaters for at least six months to a year, so we've accounted for that.

You can see that most of these spikes in zombie popularity do seem weirdly close to periods of historical trauma like wars or the AIDS epidemic. Is there a causal connection, or is it just coincidence? You be the judge.

Chart by Stephanie Fox. Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Appendix: Zombie movies we included in this study.

1910: 1
Frankenstein

1911: 1
The Mummy

1919
J’accuse!

1931: 1
Frankenstein

1932: 1
White Zombie

1933: 1
The Ghoul

1935: 2
The Lost City
Bride of Frankenstein

1936: 4
Revolt of the Zombies
Ouanga
Midnight Blunders
The Walking Dead

1938: 1
J’accuse! (Remake)

1939: 1
Son of Frankenstein

1940: 1
The Ghost Breakers

1941: 1
King of the Zombies

1942: 1
Bowery at Midnight

1943: 4
Dead Men Walk
I Walked With a Zombie
Revenge of the Zombies
Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man
The Mad Ghoul

1944: 1
Voodoo Man

1945: 1
Zombies on Broadway

1946: 1
Valley of the Zombies

1952: 1
Zombies of the Stratosphere

1953: 1
Scared Stiff

1955: 1
Creature with the Atom Bain

1957: 3
The Zombies of Mora Tau
Voodoo Island
The Unearthly

1958: 4
Womaneater
The Revenge of Frankenstein
The Brain Eaters
Misterios de la magia negra (Mysteries of Black Magic)

1959: 6
Invisible Invaders
Teenage Zombies
The Mummy
Plan 9 From Outer Space
The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake
Night of the Ghouls

1960: 1
Creature of the Walking Dead

1961: 3
Muñecos infernales (The Curse of the Doll People)
The Dead One
Dr. Blood’s Coffin

1962: 2
Carnival of Souls
Santo contra los zombies (Invasion of the Zombies)

1963: 1
They Saved Hitler’s Brain

1964: 7
Roma contro Roma (War of the Zombies)
The Curse of the Living Corpse
El Secreto del Dr. Orloff (The Secret of Dr. Orloff)
The Last Man on Earth
Monstrosity
Zombies
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies
Der chef wünscht keine Zeugun (No Survivors, Please)

1965: 2
Earth Dies Screaming
Terrore nello spazio (Planet of the Vampires)
Cinque tombe per un medium (Terror Creatures from the Grave)

1966: 2
The Plague of the Zombies
The Death Curse of Tartu

1967: 2
They Came From Beyond Space
Dr. Terror’s Gallery of Horrors

1968: 6
Night of the Living Dead
Dr. Satán y la magia negra (Dr. Satan Versus Black Magic)
The Wild Wild West: Night of the Undead
Astro-Zombies
Blue Demon contra cerebros infernales (Blue Demon vs. El Crimen)
Autopsia de un fantasma (Autopsy of a Ghost)

1969: 2
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed

1970: 4
Night Slaves
Dream No Evil
El mundo de los muertes (Land of the Dead)
Santo el enmascarado de plata y Blue Demon contra los monstrous (Santo and Blue Demon Against the Monsters)

1971: 4
La muerte viviente (Island of the Snake People)
La noche del terror ciego (Tombs of the Blind Dead)
Escape
The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler

1972: 7
Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga (The Torture Chamber of Baron Blood)
L’Etrusco uccide ancora (The Dead Are Alive)
La Notte dei diavoli (Night of the Devils)
Blood of Ghastly Horror
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things
Tales From the Crypt
(Las momias de Guanajuato) The Mummies of Guanajuato

1973: 15
El espanto surge de la tumba (Horror Rises From the Tomb)
La invasión de los muertos (Invasion of the Dead)
La orgía de los muertos (Beyond the Living Dead)
El ataque de los muertos sin ojos (Attack of the Blind Dead)
Christina, princesse de l'érotisme (A Virgin Among the Living Dead)
El castillo de las momias de Guanajuato (Castle of the Mummies of Guanajuato)
Horror Express
Dead People
La noche de los brujos (Night of the Sorcerors)
La rebelión de las muertas (Vengeance of the Zombies)
Psychomania
Flesh for Frankenstein
Santo contra la magia negra (Santo vs. Black Magic Woman)
House of the Living Dead
Vudú sangriento (Voodoo Black Exorcist)

1974: 13
Dead of Night (Deathdream)
Garden of the Dead
Corpse Eaters
House of Seven Corpses
House on Skull Mountain
Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti (Let Sleeping Corpses Lie)
Shanks
Sugar Hill
El buque mandito (Horror of the Zombies)
El pantano de los cuervos (Swamp of the Ravens)
Young Frankenstein
Kung bakit dugo ang kulay ng gabi (Night of the Zombies)

1975: 7
Macchie Solari (Autopsy)
The Dead Don’t Die
Frozen Scream
La noche de las gaviotas (Night of the Death Cult)
Lord Shango
Shivers
La Perversa caricia de Sátan (The Wicked Caresses of Satan)

1976: 1
Gou hun jiang tou (Black Magic II)

1977: 3
The Child
Shock Waves
La fille á la fourrure (The Porno Zombies)

1978: 4
Dawn of the Dead
Les raisins de la mort (Grapes of Death)
Salinnabileul ggotneun yeoja (Living Dead Girl)
Within the Woods

1979: 4
Zombi 2
Io Zombo, Tu Zombi, Lei Zomba (I Am a Zombie, You Are A Zombie, She Is A Zombie)
Phantasm
The Day It Came to Earth

1980: 10
Zombi Holocaust
John Carpenter’s The Fog
Alien Dead
The Children
Bloodeaters
Paura nella città dei morti viventi (City of the Living Dead)
Fiend
Virus
Incubo sulla città contaminata (City of the Walking Dead)
Más allá del terror (Further Than Fear)

1981: 13
Night of the Zombies
L’aldilá e tu vivtai nel terrore (The Beyond)
Heavy Metal
Quella villa accanto al cimitero (The House Outside the Cemetery)
Le notti del terrore (Burial Ground)
Dawn of the Mummy
Dead & Buried
Le Lac des morts vivant (Zombie Lake)
Frankenstein Island
L’abîme des morts vivants (Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies)
Kiss Daddy Goodbye
Evil Dead
Rosso Sangue (Absurd)

1982: 9
Aftermath
Creepshow
Raw Force
I was a Zombie for the F.B.I.
Wu long tian shi zhao ji gui (Kung Fu Zombie)
O segredo da Múmia (The Secret of the Mummy)
Pengabdi setan (Satan’s Slave)
The Curse of the Screaming Dead
Revenge in the House of Usher

1983: 5
Frightmare
Natas: The Reflection
One Dark Night
Sole Survivor
Zeder

1984: 6
Surf II
Night Shadows
Night of the Comet
Zombie Island Massacre
Frankenstein 90
Rocktober Blood

1985: 12
Hard Rock Zombies
Return of the Living Dead
Re-Animator
The Midnight Hour
The Dark Power
Attack of the Beast Creatures
Dead End
La mansión de los muertos vivantes (Mansion of the Living Dead)
Day of the Dead
Lifeforce
Warning Sign
Cementerio del terror (Zombie Apocalypse)

1986: 12
Zombie Brigade
Zombiethon
The Supernaturals
Loves of the Living Dead
Diamond Ninja Force
Deadly Friend
Nightmare Weekend
Goremet: Zombie Chef From Hell
Night of the Creeps
Raiders of the Living Dead
Zombie Nightmare
Abracadabra

1987: 14
Bad Taste
Evil Dead 2
I Was a Teenage Zombie
Dak Bangla
The Gate
Zombie 5: Killing Birds
Redneck Zombies
Killing Spree
La revanche des mortes vivantes (Revenge of the Living Dead Girls)
Zombie High
Video Dead
Zombie Vs. Ninja
Night of the Living Babes
Una notte al cimitero (Graveyard Disturbance)

1988: 11
The Serpent and the Rainbow
Return of the Living Dead Part II
Dead Heat
Waxwork
Phantasm II
Zombi 3
FleshEater
Zombie 4
Pet Semetary
Meng gui xue tang (The Haunted Cop Shop II)
Curse of the Blue Lights

1989: 17
The Laughing Dead
The Dead Next Door
The Vineyard
Curse of the Zombie
Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers
The Chilling
The Dead Pit
Blood Nasty
Zombie Rampage
Hellgate
Zombie Party
Working Stiffs
The Nutzoids at Cannibal Cove
From the Dead of Night
Ginseng King
Monster High
Night Life

1990: 5
Bride of Re-Animator
Night of the Living Dead
Voodoo Dawn
Demon Wind
Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout

1991: 9
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown
The Boneyard
Demoni 3
Nudist Colony of the Dead
Teenage Exorcist
Zombie ja Kummitusjuna (Zombie and the Ghost Train)
Zombie Army
Zombie Cop
Zombie ’90: Extreme Pestilence

1992: 11
Brain Dead
Batoru garu (Battle Girl)
Netherworld
Waxwork II
Zombie Rampage 3
Pet Semetary II
Death Becomes Her
Army of Darkness
Urban Scumbags vs. Countryside Zombies
Dead is Dead
Zombie Rampage 2

1993: 7
My Boyfriend’s Back
Return of the Living Dead 3
Zombie Bloodbath
Space Zombie Bingo!!!
The Killing Box
Zombie Genocide
Drag

1994: 7
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Shatter Dead
Shrunken Heads
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead
Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics
Dellamore Dellamore
Gore Whore

1995: 6
La Cage aux Zombies
Legion of the Night
Zombi I
Zombie Bloodbath 2: Rage of the Undead
Voodoo
Zombie Holocaust

1996: 4
Living a Zombie Dream
Zombi vs. Mardi Gras
Avaruuden teurastajat (Space Butchers)
Frankenstein and Me

1997: 10
Plaga Zombie
Premutos: Lord of the Living Dead
Uncle Sam
The Necro Files
Night of the Living
Le Zombi de Cap-Rouge
Zombie Ninja Gangbusters
Striker Bob
Bryllupsnatten (The Wedding Night)
The Viscious Sweet

1998: 9
Bio Zombie
I, Zombie: A Chronicle of Pain
Zombie Cult Massacre
Laughing Dead
Tale of the Mummy
Into the Woods…
The Cabin
Hollywood Mortuary
Zombie Toxin

1999: 5
Hot Wax Zombies On Wheels
The Mummy
VS3: Infantry of Doom
Mutation
The Collegians Are Go!!

2000: 12
The Dead Hate the Living!
Flesh Freaks
Junk: Shiryô-gari
Meat Market
Prison of the Dead
Versus
Wild Zero
Zombie Bloodbath 3: Zombie Armageddon
Teenage Zombie House Massacre
Reign of the Dead
Heavy Metal 2000
The Horrible Dr. Bones

2001: 15
Cremains
Mulva: Zombie Ass-Kicker!
Biohazardous
Dead in America
Stacy
Meat Market 2
Zombie (zero)
Biker Zombies
Children of the Living Dead
Plaga Zombie: Zona Mutants
The Mummy Returns
Zombie Chronicles
Night of a Thousand Screams
R.I.P.
The Resurrection Game

2002: 9
Bubba Ho-Tep
Deadline
Cremaster 3
Mark of the Astro-Zombies
Necropolis Awakened
Resident Evil
Zombie Campout
Roni vs. Lincoln
Evil Night
28 Days Later…

2003: 22
House of the Dead
Beyond Re-Animator
Cadaver Bay
Flesh For the Beast
Maplewoods
Mummy’s Kiss
Xombie: Dead on Arrival
Undead
Graveyard
Corpses Are Forever
Noctem
Zombie Beach Party
I’ll See You in My Dreams
Gory Gory Hallelujah
Zombiegeddon
Night of A Thousand Screams 2
Necro Files 2
Zombie Night
Exhumed
Wiseguys vs. Zombies
The Mental Dead

2004: 29
Jigoku kôshien (Battlefield Baseball)
Dawn of the Dead
Dead and Breakfast
Shaun of the Dead
Choking Hazard
Les Revenants
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Vampires vs. Zombies
Beaster
Zombie Vegetarians
Dawn of the Friend
Corpses
Angry and Moist: An Undead Chronicle
Bad Friend
Bone Sickness
Curse of the Maya
Dead & Breakfast
Feeding the Masses
Ghost Lake
Hide and Creep
Hunting Creatures
Night of the Living Dorks
Rotten Shaolin Zombies
Khun krabii hiiroh (SARS Wars)
Shadows of the Dead
Shao Lin jiang shi (Shaolin Vs. Evil Dead)
Zombie Honeymoon
Zombie Nation
Zombie Planet

2005: 29
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium
Land of the Dead
The Wickeds
Zombiez
Boy Eats Girl
Bubba’s Chili Parlor
Day X
Dead at the Box Office
Dead Creek
Dead Life
Dead Men Walking
Die You Zombie Bastards!
Die Zombiejäger
Le divan vert
Doom
Hood of the Living Dead
House of the Dead 2
Livelihood
Living Dead Lock Up
Pot Zombies
Raiders of the Damned
Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis
Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave to the Grave
Rise of the Undead
The Roost
Severed
The Stink of Flesh
Swamp Zombies
(Tôkyô zonbi) Tokyo Zombie

2006: 34
After Sundown
Awaken the Dead
Automaton Transfusion
Awakening
City of Rott
Dead & Deader
Dead in the Water
The Dead Live
Deadlands: The Rising
Die and Let Live
Doomed to Consume
Dorm of the Dead
Electric Zombies
Enter the Zombie
Fido
Gangs of the Dead
L’isola dei morti viventi (Island of the Living Dead)
Last Rites of the Dead
Meat Market 3
Mortuary
Night of the Dead: Leben Tod
Night of the Living Dead 3-D
The Plague
The Quick and the Undead
Shadow: Dead Riot
The Slaughter
Slither
Special Dead
Storm of the Dead
Stoned Dead
War of the Dead
Wicked Little Things
The Zombie Diaries
Zombies by Design

2007: 33
28 Weeks Later
American Zombie
Awaken the Dead
Beneath the Surface
Brain Blockers
Days of Darkness
Dead Heist
Dead Moon Rising
The Dead Undead
Evil Keg
Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane
Forest of the Dead
Forever Dead
Living Dead Lock Up 2: March of the Dead
The Mad
Motocross Zombies from Hell
Mutation-Annihilation
Otto; or Up With Dead People
Planet Terror
The Rage
REC
Resident Evil: Extinction
Risen
Street Team Massacre
Undead or Alive
Undead Ted
Wasting Away
Z: A Zombie Musical
Zibahkhana-Hell’s Ground
Zombie Farm
Zombie Town
Zombies Gone Wild
Zombi: La creazione (Zombies: The Beginning)

2008: 9
Quarantine
Day of the Dead
Diary of the Dead
Outpost
Sabbath
Retardead
House of the Damned
Zombie Strippers
Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!

Just how the mammalian nose is capable of detecting such a wide range of odors remains a mystery, although olfactory researchers know that the number of genes responsible for smell receptors is related to the range of odors an animal can discern. So the mass production of these receptors in a lab represents a significant breakthrough in olfactory research:

"The main barrier to studying smell is that we haven't been able to make enough receptors and purify them to homogeneity. Now, it's finally available as a raw material for people to utilize, and should enable many new studies into smell research," said Brian Cook, who just defended his MIT PhD thesis based on this work.

DARPA has taken an interest in the research, which it believes could lead to the development of tools to replace drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs. But the researchers foresee medical applications as well:

In future work, the team plans to work with researchers worldwide, including MIT's Media Lab and Department of Biology, to develop a portable microfluidic device that can identify an array of different odors. Such a device could be used in medicine for the early diagnosis of certain diseases that produce distinctive odors, such as diabetes and lung, bladder and skin cancers, [Center for Biomedical Engineering associate director Shuguang] Zhang said. There are also a wide range of industrial applications for such a smell-based biosensing device, he said.

[MIT Press Release]

Overall Mindsets
The spread of occupations and aspirations for both Doctor Who and Star Trek fans is near-identical; what differs, in fact, is the occupations and the aspirations themselves.

The number one dream of approximately 29% of the 1,648 survey respondents is to work in science. Visual and Performing Arts takes a close second, with 14% of respondents wishing to work in that area. After that, 11% of respondents declared "Other," and while most of those were either unsure of their careers or unwilling to place their jobs in one of the broader categories, the most outspoken contingent in the "Other" group announced their childhood wishes to be astronauts. Both Star Trek and Doctor Who, then, breed aspiring stargazers, intellectuals, artists, actors, and people with careers too varied to define.

Where the lives of fans actually end up is a slightly different matter. 23% of respondents work in Computers & Mathematics, even though less than 7% aspired to that career. Students are next — perhaps those 17% of respondents are all budding scientists and thespians, though the majority suggests otherwise. 9% of respondents qualified their careers as Education, Museum Work, and Library Science; only 5% wanted to work in that area as children. Just under half of the aspiring visual and performing artists achieved their dream, and only 2% work in the nerd-kid-favorite career of Science.

While this is as much influenced by teachers, parents, mentors, locations, and salaries as it is any television show, the crevasse between childhood aspirations and eventual careers is a telling look at how the needs of the world transform the dreams of individuals.

"They are both studies of humanity: Star Trek is more about putting people into abstract situations and seeing what humanity emerges, while Doctor Who tends toward deciding what humanity should be inserted into an abstract situation."

"I'm a fan of Star Trek for its optimism. I like the idea that science and engineering can be applied to solve our problems. I like Doctor Who for its sense of wonder at the universe's complexity."

"Star Trek represents a structured authority in exploration, while Doctor Who favors the "mad genius inventor," an individual exploring on their own. ... Doctor Who does a better job of depicting what it is to be truly alien. Star Trek does a good job of examining what it means to be truly human."

New fans are arriving by the moment, however, to change those numbers. 28% of Doctor Who fans discovered the show less than 5 years ago; these fresh recruits no doubt owe their fandom to the revived New Who. Star Trek's fan base, according to these survey respondents, has grown only 2% in the last 5 years, so it looks like Enterprise didn't help much.

Either way, don't let these results depress you. I doubt the devoted fanbase — the 64% of 15-plus-year Doctor Who fans and 81% of those near-lifetime Star Trek fans — is going anywhere anytime soon.

"I was drawn to the Doctor because he always resolved conflicts using is head and relied little on brute force and violence. I love the cerebral nature of it!"

"What draws me to Star Trek is Roddenberry's vision of a universe where the definition of what it means to be human is constantly changing so that it's more inclusive. ... I have major problems with the Doctor as a character, because he's fundamentally undemocratic — this guy just goes around killing aliens on my behalf, but I have no say in it."

"Star Trek ... imagines a scientific, scholarly existence in a future where (generally) people are nice to each other; it scratches (sorta) my hard sci-fi itch. [Doctor Who is] lots of fun following the adventures of a charismatic, brilliant eccentric in a crazy world; it scratches my Douglas Adams-ish fantastic sci-fi itch."

"Trek tells the story of events that happen to people, but not so much what happens between people."

Star Trek, however, does have more appeal across the globe, suggesting either greater exposure for American television or greater appeal to people in varied societies. Star Trek's fans hail from 33 countries, while Doctor Who's live in 22. There are fans of both shows in 12 apparently sci-fi-friendly countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Austrlia, New Zealand, China, Brazil, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Trinidad & Tobago.

By the way, judging from plentiful reader comments, Star Trek takes the cake for special effects, while Doctor Who garnered the most praise for its acting. Food for thought — and evidence, perhaps, that David Tennant's Doctor ought to face down Patrick Stewart's Captain in a special crossover episode of doom. (Or perhaps they should just have a torrid affair: More than one reader expressed disappointment in Star Trek's record on homosexuality.)

"I was attracted to the misanthropic anti-establishment character of the Doctor, and the unique odds of his adventures — a single person pitting wits against brawn, whereas Trek was always about the establishment, not the underdog."

"The beauty of Star Trek is the betterment of humans through the unquenchable need to know more. [The Doctor] is a renegade, cruising around, finding problems and making them right with his vast knowledge and skills."

In conclusion, I have to leave you with these two stories. Someone out there has the most awesome husband ever, and someone else should feel free to claim the most awesome parents.

"When I first met my husband and asked for his number, he said he'd give it to me if I knew who Davros was. I explained all about the Daleks to him, he gave me his number, and, well, now we are married. I guess I owe finding true love to Doctor Who."

"My parents met because of Original Star Trek. I was saturated with it since before I was born. I grew up being dragged to conventions and fan club meetings, and learned an awful lot about life through my mom's secret stash of fanfiction. Although it's not my favorite show, I have a tremendous respect for it, because it really did made me into someone confident in her 'geekiness.'"

If you want to see all our data, you can download this PDF.

If you're willing to share the details of your science fiction predilections in an anonymous survey, please help me out by taking the survey. Your responses will be used only for good, not for evil.

This 15-question survey shouldn't take you more than a couple of minutes, and it will be open for responses until April 30. Once I've collected and analyzed all the data, I'll report back with details on just how much science fiction has directed our lives!

Image above from Star Trek Meets Doctor Who.

That is, unless it's a crashed spaceship, and the hapless pilot is desperately trying to figure out how to get the thing upright again before he freezes his ass off. Or maybe it's something he bought 50 years in the future at IKEA, and those are the instructions which haven't become any more readable with the passage of time. At least it looks like the power is still on inside.

What we like about this image is that it could be any, or even all of the above. Who's to say it isn't a futuristic flying ice research station from IKEA that's been turned sideways? Conceptual artist James Clyne manages to marry future tech with the desolate feeling of a distant icy landscape in the middle of nowhere, and keep us guessing at the same time.

You can check out more of his concept artwork at his website, but be sure to bundle up and drink warm beverages as you browse.