Well, I made this cake just yesterday. I just couldn' t do the cutting and scooping out the cake.

So I spooned the filling into a decorator' s bag and pipped the filling into the cake.

I made several holes on top of the cake ( I had flipped the cake upside down on a cake plate) . Please use the tip that is the most narrow, as you do not want big holes at the top of the cake. I must of had about 25 small holes from the nozzle of the bag, placing just enough filling, making the cake rise a tad. I was able to use all the filling into the cake.

I then went and let the cake set while I did the frosting. For the frosting, I put more of the chocolate chips in then what I orginally posted the recipe at, most likely about 1/ 2 cup more. This cake is a must for the frig it seems to be more abundance with flavor when it sets for about 2- 3 hours. I hope this helps someone. Cheryl Try using cupcakes! and dip them in the frosting, let cool on tray. WOWZA

Delicious recipe! Husband said it was excellent. Added more salt, black pepper and garlic powder and about 1 t. of Italian seasoning to add more flavor as other reviews mentioned it being on the bland side. Used 2 cloves of garlic, omitted the wine( didn' t have on hand) and just used 2 c of chicken broth. Also omitted the caper liquid per another reviewer' s suggestion. The whole family enjoyed the meal!

Heat a 12 inch skillet with olive oil over high heat. Quickly saute the jalapeno sausage for 2 minutes, add the dry sherry and cook 2 more minutes. Toss in the mango and pineapple and saute for 2- 3 minutes. Add the fresh salsa, edamame and black beans, continue to cook 2- 3 minutes just to heat through. Mix the chopped cilantro with the rice. Spoon the sausage and mango and pineapple salsa over the rice and serve immediately.

Great. My family loved it. This recipe is a keeper and will get used alot.

I added parm. cheese and thick slices of portabello mushrooms and used a banana pepper instead of the red sweet pepper because thats what I had on hand. I didnt cut the potatoes in large chunks after reading the other reviews I was afraid that the potatoes would not be tender when the zucchini was done. I cut the potatoes into large dice sized pieces. I also put in under the broiler for a few minutes to get nice browning. This can be made in sooo many variations, Im looking forward to making and customizing it again. YUM

Generously grease a large slab or baking sheet. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, white sugar and milk. Bring to a boil. Stir in butter, pecans and vanilla. Heat, without stirring, to between 234 and 240 degrees F ( 112 to 116 degrees C) , or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.

Beat until thickened, then pour immediately onto prepared surface and let rest until firm and completely cool before cutting.

AWESOME! I was so happy to find a good base recipe because messing around with different flavors is my thing. The first time that I made these I made pecan pie muffins. I used 3/ cup milk and 1/ 4 cup apple cider, cinnamon, apple sauce for the oil, vanilla, and candied pecans ( pralines) . I only used 2 tbs. of sugar because the nuts were covered in sugar. They poofed up HUGE and beautiful.

I will be using this recipe for MANY, MANY more variations.

Microwave honey on high until bubbly ( about 1 minute) .

Stir in the margarine. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the flour, cocoa and vanilla. Mix well and chill dough for several hours in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) . Roll chunks of the chilled dough into cylindrical shapes in order to resemble cat poop. Roll cookies in cereal and place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve cookies in a new litter box on a bed of malted barley cereal. Use a new litter scoop to remove cookies.

This was delicious but I had a hard time keeping the tomato mixture from falling off, even though I laid the cheese on top. That said, the flavor was wonderful. When I try it again, I' ll make sure to use a more substantially sized baguette.

I also added a splash of balsamic vinegar and added the garlic straight to the tomatoes, as I' m a garlic fanatic. : ) & # 10; & # 10; Fresh mozzarella and basil are absolutely essential to this dish, so don' t skimp and use the powdered or dried stuff.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F ( 200 degrees C) . In a small bowl combine oil, salt and pepper. Rub potato skins with oil mixture. Bake potatoes ( do not wrap in foil) in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until soft.

Remove potatoes from oven and slice skin off of the top. Scoop the flesh into a large bowl, reserving the intact skins. To the potatoes add cheese, egg, butter and half of the green onions. Mash potatoes while gradually adding milk. Spoon the mixture into the skins and top with remaining onions and paprika. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I read several reviews so I decided I would make these for breakfast this morning. I have mad many batches of Cinnamon rolls for at least the last 20 years. I have had a batch with this texture. I am not saying these were awful but they weren’ t exactly brad like either. I found them to be more biscuits like and taking over the 1 1/ 2 hours to come out of the oven I would say I would use my recipe for quick bread and have almost the same thing in less than an hour.

I think I will stick to my regular recipe and they don' t don’ t have that much more work. Yes they have to rise twice for almost an hour each time, but I but I do other things during that time, so really I am multitasking.

I will say my husband enjoyed them. I didn’ t use all the butter called for in the recipe so I didn’ t have a messy oven and I use unsalted butter in most all of my cooking and baking makes for a " truer" flavour and I am on a salt restricted diet so I save the salt where I can. I did let this recipe rise for 30 minutes the first time because it just seemed so dense and like the gluten hadn' t relaxed enough and the second rising almost an hour. Yeast still takes time to develop.

I do use my oven to rise dough’ s, I turn my oven on till it reaches 100 degrees or less turn it off and leave the light on keeps just enough heat so bread dough’ s rise beautiful and away from drafts.

Excellent winter warmer and family staple meal! & # 10; I' m a lazy cook: here' s how I tweaked it to be even easier! & # 10; Instead of jalapenos I used 1/ 2 fresh green beans and 1/ 2 chopped bell pepper ( red is yummy) . & # 10; Lazy cook alert! Instead of using a pot on the stove, whack the mixture ( after rice has barely absorbed the liquid) into your electric RICE COOKER, hit the start button and leave it alone! If your cooker is non- stick like mine, the ' rice cake' will pop out in perfect shape when you' re ready for dinner! & # 10; An excellent one- pot meal!

I love to try new recipes and spend way too much time on AR! ; ) There are so many great recipes and so many awesome people on the AR exchange! Well, I " did" love to bake ( especially cookies) and try new pasta dishes. I guess I still enjoy making them, I just do not get to enjoy eating them. lol Now I am enjoying trying new recipes that are more diabetic friendly! My daughter and I spend an entire day together every year baking goodies and making candies for several trays for all of the Christmas parties. The other tradition would be making noodles for the holidays.

My daughter is the " offical taste tester" for me! Each year when the holiday trays are complete and the noodles are all rolled out! None that I' ll admit to ! ; )

A delegation of Pakistani military officials decided to cancel a meeting this week with U. S. military officials in protest after they were taken off a plane and questioned at Washington' s Dulles International Airport, according to a Pakistani official. The nine- member delegation, including brigadier generals and at least one two- star navy admiral, were bound for a meeting at the U. S. military' s Central Command at Mac. Dill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

After they boarded a United Airlines flight in Washington on Monday en route to Tampa, a passenger on the flight expressed to the flight crew a concern about one of the members of the Pakistani delegation, according to the Pakistani official, who spoke to CNN but asked not to be identified.

" I was devastated, " Straub says. But she was also realistic: " In this economy, who can afford out- of- pocket for every doctor, every dentist visit? " Unless she figures something out - - and fast - - Straub will become one of the millions of young Americans without health insurance. A report by the Commonwealth Fund last year showed that 34 percent of college graduates will spend some time uninsured in the year after graduation.

The report also found that two- thirds of young adults ages 19 to 29 who spent time without insurance coverage in the past year had gone without needed medical care because it cost too much. Of course, the solution is to get a job that offers insurance, but that' s not so easy these days. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, nearly 80 percent of recent college graduates who are looking for jobs haven' t found one. " Lack of coverage and access to health care services puts the health of young adults at risk, and can subject them, as well as their families, to potentially dire financial consequences, " says Sara Collins, co- author of The Commonwealth Fund report. Some college grads, like Straub, are furiously trying to figure out a way to get insurance.

But others, dubbed the " young invincibles" think they don' t need it since they' re young and healthy. Watch a young invincible bike messenger talk about his experience But if something goes wrong - - a car accident, a cancer diagnosis - - a young, uninsured person could be in real trouble.

According to the Commonwealth Fund study, half of uninsured young people said they were paying off medical bills or medical debt over time. So if you' re about to graduate: Congratulations - - and welcome to the real world, where you' ll need health insurance. Here are some ways to get it. Know your rights

( CNN) - - You could say that a simple pair of running shorts was the trigger that launched a multimillion- dollar business and radically shifted the lives of basketball coaches Susan Walvius and Michelle Marciniak.

In August 2007, Walvius, who was then the head women' s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina, and her assistant, Marciniak, had just finished a long day teaching at a summer basketball camp. They sat exhausted in the gym, looking forward to a good night' s rest. Then Walvius - - thinking about her comfy running shorts - - experienced what she describes as an & quot; aha moment. & quot; & quot; I looked at Michelle and said, ' I love this fabric, and I' d love to have bedsheets from this stuff. ' Michelle said, ' Let' s do it. ' & quot; And with zero formal experience, the two women stepped boldly into the world of entrepreneurship. They paired with South Carolina' s International Business School to research the market, quit their coaching jobs, formed a business and took their battles from the basketball court to business boardrooms. & quot; The biggest similarity between coaching and what we do now is raising capital, & quot; said Walvius, who took USC' s women roundballers to the Elite Eight for the first time in 2002.

She compares raising capital to recruiting players. Instead of selling the school basketball program, they' re selling bedding - - heavy on the marketing side - - complete with Power. Point presentations and glossy poster boards. Their business - - SHEEX - - makes and sells & quot; performance& quot; sheets and pillowcases made from specialty fabrics that wick moisture and transfer heat.

They sell online and at upscale sporting goods stores, trendy home stores and other retail outlets. After working together as coach and assistant coach for five years - - and now as business partners - - the duo has developed a kind of unwritten playbook for themselves. & quot; We' re great friends, and we have different strengths, & quot; Walvius said. & quot; Susan and I complement each other really well during presentations, & quot; Marciniak said. & quot; If I get stuck, she fills in, and if she gets stuck, I fill in. & quot; Crisscrossing the country to build their business team and garner support, the two often find themselves working together for 16- hour days, said Marciniak, who gained attention as an All- American point guard on the University of Tennessee' s national championship team in 1996.

Local media nicknamed Marciniak and a teammate & quot; fire and ice. & quot; & quot; I look at this team in a similar way, & quot; Marciniak said. & quot; I bring a more ' fiery' personality to our team, where Susan brings a calmer one. & quot; Meetings are very calm they say. The fire and ice come while grinding through everyday decisions. Marciniak proved on the basketball courts of the that she can play with fire. In a 2002 altercation that' s ranked by FOX as one of the & quot; most outrageous moments in sports, & quot; a player with the Los Angeles Sparks hit Marciniak in the face with the ball, prompting Marciniak to charge toward the player, who then knocked her to the floor. Both players were suspended and fined & quot; a couple thousand dollars, & quot; Marciniak said.

Recently, during meetings for SHEEX, the fight has come up in business conversation several times. & quot; I am amazed how many guys see the fight after we meet with them and then comment on it during the next meeting or in a follow- up e- mail, & quot; Marciniak said. & quot; They think it' s cool. & quot; & quot; I just smile and tell my side of the story, & quot; she said. Eventually, Marciniak learned to channel and focus that intensity, her former boss said. & quot; Michelle isn' t emotionally popping off in a meeting like she was on the basketball court, & quot; Walvius said. & quot; She was such an emotional basketball player, and it was one of the reasons why she was highly successful. But with this, everything is about preparation and running our team. & quot; Do they fight amongst themselves? & quot; Oh, we fight all the time, & quot; Walvius said with a laugh. & quot; We fight about business decisions and the pace of . I want to research everything. & quot; Sometimes, she said, when they realize they can' t resolve their differences, they just put them aside and move on.

Do they see any parallels between male- dominated college and professional sports, and competing in the male- dominated business world? Not really, they say. & quot; In sports, there are constant reminders that you' re not the same, & quot; Walvius said. She mentioned gender- based differences in & quot; practice times, modes of transportation, facilities - - you live that every day. & quot; But in the business world, she said, they' re & quot; competing in an arena today where that' s not the case. It' s truly about the bottom line. & quot; The two say they don' t have time anymore to shoot baskets or even talk basketball.

It' s all business as they prepare for a major retail launch at upscale department stores and sporting goods stores. & quot; What we' re doing is trying to change the face of bedding in the world, & quot; Marciniak said. & quot; What we want to do is win a ' national championship' with SHEEX. & quot; Now that they' re playing ball with business barons, do Marciniak and Walvius miss their days on the hardwood? & quot; I miss some of the players who will really go to the wall for you, & quot; Walvius said. & quot; I miss the strategy of the game.

Every once in a while, I' ll see a game on TV and I' ll see something that pulls me back there. & quot;

WASHINGTON ( CNN) - - Based on their latest estimates, congressional officials organizing next week' s presidential inaugural expect 2 million people to brave extra- long security lines in the bitter cold to witness Barack Obama being sworn in as the first African- American U. S. president. & quot; Hopefully, people will be of good temper and willing to go through the lines it will take, & quot; said Sen.

Dianne Feinstein, D- California, who chairs the congressional committee organizing inaugural events on Capitol Hill. & quot; Because they are going to have to go through magnetometers and they are going to be wanded.

Unfortunately, that' s the nature of the time. & quot; Forecasts show the high temperature on Inauguration Day will be 30 degrees Fahrenheit ( - 1 Celsius) . Speaking with other officials at a news conference Friday previewing the inaugural festivities, Feinstein warned that people will have to walk long distances to get to the event and should plan to arrive early. & quot; Most people will be standing for a substantial period of time, and be sure you can do it, & quot; she said. & quot; People have to be prepared to handle very cold weather, especially if the wind comes up. & quot; She suggested people not bring infants or children unless they are of an & quot; age and durability& quot; to withstand the cold over a long period of time. & quot; Be very careful if you' re planning to bring your children, cause it' s not going to be easy, & quot; she said, speaking as a mother and grandmother. Contingency plans exist to move the swearing- in inside the Capitol if the cold becomes & quot; life- endangering, & quot; according to Howard Gantman, who works for Feinstein. & quot; But in view of the large number of people, there' s a strong intent to do this outside, & quot; he said.

Crowd estimates are down from an original prediction from District of Columbia officials that as many as 4 million people would crowd the Capitol grounds and the National Mall to see the event. The new figures, based on fresh surveys of charter bus companies, show far fewer are coming than initially thought. More than two dozen construction workers hammered together 22, 000 sheets of plywood to build the dramatic inaugural platform on the West Front of the Capitol where will take the oath of office.

While 2 million people will attend the event, many will see it best on one of two dozen jumbo televisions placed along the Mall.

Only 240, 000 people will get official inaugural tickets, and most of them will have to stand. A mere 28, 000 seats are available on the Capitol grounds. Five thousand portable bathrooms will be set up for ticketed guests on the Capitol grounds.

Feinstein didn' t know how many toilets would be available along the Mall for people without tickets.

It cost $ 3.

5 million to build the inaugural platform and rent the chairs and fencing on the Capitol grounds, according to Stephan Ayers, the acting architect of the Capitol. Almost 2 million people have visited the Web site, with most of the attention going to the page featuring the menu for the inaugural luncheon that will immediately follow the swearing- in in the Capitol' s Statuary Hall. The elite few who are invited to that lunch will enjoy a three- course meal featuring wines from Feinstein' s home state of California, she said.

The first course will be & quot; seafood stew served with Duckhorn Vineyards, 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley. & quot; That will be followed by & quot; a brace of American birds ( pheasant and duck) , served with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes; served with Goldeneye, 2005 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. & quot; And finally, & quot; apple cinnamon sponge cake and sweet cream glace served with Korbel Natural ' Special Inaugural Cuvee, ' California Champagne. & quot; Feinstein said she and a small group of senators' wives, and Nancy Erickson, the secretary of the Senate, chose the menu after a competition of the & quot; very best that the Washington catering establishment has to offer. & quot; Over the head table at the lunch will hang an 1865 painting, & quot; View of the Yosemite Valley, & quot; by American artist Thomas Hill.

The picture is on loan from the New York Historical Society. The swearing- in ceremony itself won' t change from previous inaugurals, Feinstein said. She and her staff studied DVDs of past ceremonies & quot; so everything is according to historical procedure. & quot; She said the ceremony is & quot; scripted, and it is concise and it moves quickly. & quot; Feinstein' s Senate office received more than 60, 000 requests for inaugural tickets. But, as a senator, she was allotted just under 300 to give out. House members get just under 200.

She said everyone she is giving a ticket to must pledge not to sell the ticket for a profit. As chairman of the inaugural committee, Feinstein will make & quot; very formal and very brief& quot; introductions for all the speakers at the . Asked if she would have trouble introducing Pastor Rick Warren - - who will deliver the invocation - - with whom she disagrees politically on some issues such as gay rights, she said no. & quot; This is not a political event, & quot; she said. Feinstein was also asked to sum up her feelings about the first African- American being sworn in as president. & quot; For me, that' s going to be the most amazing part, & quot; she said. & quot; I' m going to look out at the Lincoln Memorial as Barack Obama takes the oath of office. I' m going to think back into our history 200 years and what America was like at that time, especially for African- Americans.

And then to realize that we' ve gone from the monument to the White House in that 200 years.

And the doors are open. And we have a bright, young, energetic president who happens to be African- American, and the American people are rejoicing. & quot; All About & bull;

Every week CNN International' s highlights Africa' s most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera. This week we profile Zimbabwean- born author, filmmaker and professor M. Asante. ( CNN) - - As a disruptive teenager, M. Asante was expelled from school on more than one occasion. Yet today, as an award- winning writer, filmmaker and professor, he' s welcomed back in classrooms around the world.

A master storyteller, Zimbabwe- born Asante is a major creative force. He' s written a number of books, as well as three movies, including 2008' s & quot; The Black Candle, & quot; which was narrated by American poet Maya Angelou. Only 29 years old, Asante has also embarked on a mission to make art more accessible to younger generations.

As a tenured professor of creative writing and film at Morgan State University in Baltimore, he leads classrooms of students, many of whom are close to him in age, using language they can understand. & quot; When I come into school, I keep it real with my students, & quot; Asante says. & quot; I use examples that they understand, we talk about things that are relevant in contemporary society, & quot; he adds. & quot; I want to show them this is what a professor can look like. You know what I mean? Yeah, I write books, you can write books too, & quot; Asante says. & quot; Whether you wear a bow tie or not has nothing to do with your intellectual rigor or whatever, it' s irrelevant - - it' s really about your ideas and what you bring to the table. & quot; Asante' s passion for art has also led him to travel across the United States and to many African countries where he gives passionate lectures about his craft. He says the trips back to the continent in which he was born have been a great experience for both him and the young Africans who come to listen to him. & quot; They' re inspired and you can see it, & quot; he says. & quot; They' re shocked that this person from America is so rooted, you know, sometimes even more rooted than they are. & quot; Born in Harare to American parents, Asante moved to the United States at a young age. His life' s journey got off to a rocky start while growing up in Philadelphia - - he was kicked out of his private school when he was 12 and then was sent to two public schools where he continued to get into trouble by being disruptive and fighting.

But Asante' s life took a major turn when he was 16 when he joined a creative writing class and was encouraged by his teacher to write about anything he wanted. He says that this was something he' d never been told before at school. & quot; I tested her at first - - I wrote a couple of curse words at first just to see if she was serious about this, & quot; he recalls. & quot; And she looked at it and said ' good. ' And I was like, ' OK, this is crazy! ' So I take the pen and my hand starts shaking because I get overwhelmed with this feeling about what I' m gonna write. & quot; Asante says that defining moment changed his life forever, triggering his love for writing. & quot; There were so many other things going on at that same time - - I had gotten arrested, I had a very close friend of mine, Little Chris, who got murdered by gun violence in Philly, my brother was incarcerated, people were dying and it was sad, & quot; Asante says. & quot; And that was one of the things I was writing about. I felt like I had an obligation to those things and I had to write about them in a way that was inspiring and empowering so other people wouldn' t go there. & quot; He published his first book, a collection of poems called & quot; Like Water Running Off My Neck, & quot; when he just 20 years old. He followed up his debut with & quot; Beautiful and Ugly Too& quot; in 2005 and then & quot; It' s Bigger Than Hip- Hop& quot; in 2008. Asante made his film debut in 2005 when he wrote and produced & quot; 500 Years, & quot; a film about the effects of slavery and colonialism on people of African descent that went on to win five awards on the international film festival circuit.

His latest film, & quot; Motherland, & quot; won Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival last year. Despite his success, Asante isn' t slowing down. He says he wants his art to reach as many people as possible. & quot; I like to do things on a big level and continue to take things to a higher level because for me if you' re going to be serious about art and serious about the work you' re making, you have to also be serious about making sure it reaches people, & quot; he says. & quot; If I' m going to investing my energy and time on something that I think is really important, I want millions and billions to read it and have access to it. & quot; Teo Kermeliotis contributed to this report.

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Kim Kardashian' s mom gets facelift Mila Kunis: Definitely going to the ball Inside the Casey Anthony jury Hackers turn tables on Murdoch empire Migraines a deal breaker for Bachmann? ' Nobody proved Murdoch was involved' Computer hackers attack ' Sun' Congressman battles home intruder Murdoch scandal: Who' s next?

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TV producer Al Taylor: I met with Casey Chihuahua chases off robbers British phone hacking inquiry widened Shuttle Atlantis makes final landing If you can' t beat them, eat them! NASA: What' s next? New breast cancer screening guidelines First Lady' s new food initiative Fallout after Murdoch testimony Geyser of water lifts car into air Bolden: NASA is very busy Are fast food calorie counts accurate? Hacking groups' possible agendas Ridicu. List Classic: Actor, 51, weds teen ' This is no time to compromise' Consequences of not raising debt ceiling Notorious con man to return to prison Ridicu.

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Drew Bristol Palin talks teen pregnancy TV producer Al Taylor: I met with Casey Bizarre deaths at millionaire' s mansion Behind- the- scenes with Bristol Palin Preview: Dr. Drew with Bristol Palin Murray to blame for Jackson' s death? Casey interview: Bonanza or backlash? Summers on America' s growth prospects Fareed' s Take: Afghanistan' s future What in the World: Brazil overheating? Most expensive city in the world Lawmakers fighting like cats and dogs Fareed Zakaria answers your questions Bernard- Henri Levy speaks out on DSK Peter Godwin on Sudan Getting a Picasso into a war zone Will NFL players agree to owners' offer?

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Zombie author and expert Dr. Steven Schlozman will join us for a Twitter chat at 12: 00 p. m. ET on Tuesday, April 26. Tweet your questions to and follow along at . ( CNN) - - An airborne virus is rapidly turning people into zombies.

Two- thirds of humanity has been wiped out.

Scientists desperately look for a cure, even as their own brains deteriorate and the disease robs them of what we consider life. Relax, it' s only fiction - - at least, for now. This apocalyptic scenario frames the new novel & quot; The Zombie Autopsies& quot; by Dr.

Steven Schlozman, a child psychiatrist who holds positions at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital/ Mc. Lean Program in Child Psychiatry.

You might not expect someone with those credentials to take zombies seriously, but it turns out the undead are a great way to explore real- world health issues: why certain nasty diseases can destroy the brain, how global pandemics create chaos and fear, and what should be done about people infected with a highly contagious and incurable lethal illness. & quot; One of the things zombie novels do is they bring up all these existential concerns that happen in medicine all the time: How do you define what' s alive? & quot; says Schlozman, who has been known to bounce between zombie fan conventions and academic meetings. & quot; When is it appropriate to say someone' s ' as- good- as- dead, ' which is an awful, difficult decision? & quot; What a zombie virus would do to the brain So maybe you' ve seen & quot; Night of the Living Dead, & quot; read & quot; World War Z, & quot; or can' t wait for the return of the AMC show & quot; The Walking Dead, & quot; but you probably don' t know what differentiates the brains of humans and zombies.

First things first: How does the zombie disease infect its victims? Many stories in the genre talk about biting, but Schlozman' s novel imagines a deliberately engineered virus whose particles can travel in the air and remain potent enough to jump from one person to another in a single sneeze. Now, then, to the brain- eating.

The zombie virus as Schlozman describes it basically gnaws the brain down to the amygdala, an almond- shaped structure responsible for the & quot; fight or flight& quot; response. The zombies always respond by fighting because another critical part of the brain, the ventromedial hypothalamus, which tells you when you' ve eaten enough, is broken.

The brain' s frontal lobes, responsible for problem- solving, are devoured by the virus, so zombies can' t make complex decisions. Impairment in the cerebellum means they can' t walk well, either.

Also, these humanoids have an unexplained predilection for eating human flesh. & quot; The zombies in this book are stumbling, shambling, hungry as hell, & quot; Schlozman said. & quot; Basically they' re like drunk crocodiles; they' re not smart, they don' t know who you are or what you are. & quot; How a zombie virus would be made So the bloodthirsty undead wander ( or crawl) around spreading a lethal illness ominously called ataxic neurodegenerative satiety deficiency syndrome, or ANSD, for short. & quot; When something really terrifying comes along, especially in medicine or that has a medical feel to it, we always give it initials. That' s the way we distance ourselves from it, & quot; Schlozman said. The virus has several brain- destroying components, one of which is a & quot; prion, & quot; meaning a protein like the one that causes mad cow disease. In real life, prions twist when they are in an acidic environment and become dangerous, Schlozman said.

How our own environment has changed to make prions infectious - - getting from the soil to the cows in mad cow disease, for instance - - is still a mystery. Now here' s something to send chills up your spine: In Schlozman' s world, airborne prions can be infectious, meaning mad cow disease and similar nervous- system destroyers could theoretically spread just like the flu.

Swiss and German researchers recently found that mice that had only one minute of exposure to aerosols containing prions died of mad cow disease, as reported in the journal . A follow- up described in showed the same for a related disease that' s only found in animals called scrapie. Of course, these are mice in artificially controlled conditions in a laboratory, and humans do not exhale prions, but it could have implications for safety practices nonetheless. Like mad cow disease, the zombie disease Schlozman describes also progresses in acidic environments. In the book, a major corporation doles out implantable meters that infuse the body with chemicals to artificially lower acidity when it gets too high.

But, sadly, when acidity is too low, that also induces symptoms that mimic the zombie virus, so it' s not a longterm solution.

Everyone who gets exposed eventually succumbs, Schlozman said.

As for the unknown component of the zombie disease that would help slowly zombifying researchers in their quest for a cure, that' s up for the reader to figure out - - and the clues are all in the book, Schlozman said. How we' d fight back You can' t ethically round up fellow survivors to kick some zombie butt unless the undead have technically died. And in Schlozman' s book, a group of religious leaders get together and decide that when people reach stage four of the disease, they are basically dead. That, of course, permits zombie & quot; deanimation, & quot; or killing. And how do you kill a zombie?

Much of zombie fiction knocks out zombies through shots to the head. That, Schlozman said, is because the brain stem governs the most basic functioning: breathing and heartbeat. A zombie- apocalypse disease like the one he describes probably wouldn' t evolve on its own in the real world, he said. But, as we' ve seen, individual symptoms of zombies do correspond to real ailments. And if they all came together, the disease would be creepily efficient at claiming bodies, Schlozman said.

Bad news, folks: Even if people contracted a zombie virus through bites, the odds of our survival aren' t great. A mathematician at the University of Ottawa named Robert Smith? ( who uses the question mark to distinguish himself from other Robert Smiths, of course) , has calculated that if one zombie were introduced to a city of 500, 000 people, after about seven days, every human would either be dead or a zombie. & quot; We' re in big, big trouble if this ever happens, & quot; Smith? said. & quot; We can kill the zombies a bit, but we' re not very good at killing zombies fundamentally. What tends to happen is: The zombies just win, and the more they win, the more they keep winning& quot; because the disease spreads so rapidly.

The best solution is a strategic attack, rather than an & quot; every man for himself& quot; defense scenario, he said. It would take knowledge and intelligence, neither of which zombies have, to prevail. Why study zombies? In his day job, Smith? models how real infectious diseases spread. But he' s already reaped benefits from his work on zombies.

For instance, while many mathematical models only deal with one complicated aspect of a situation at a time, he tackled two - - zombie infection and zombie- killing - - when it came to speculating about outbreaks. When it came time for modeling of real- world human papillomavirus ( HPV) , then, Smith? felt equipped to handle many facets of it at the same time, such as heterosexual and homosexual transmission of HPV. & quot; Knowing what we knew from zombies allowed us to actually take on these more complicated models without fear, & quot; he said. Studying zombies is also a great way to get young people excited about science. Smith? , who was on a zombie- science panel with Schlozman through the National Academy of Sciences' Science and Entertainment Exchange in 2009, has also seen math- phobic people get interested in mathematics by reading about his work with zombies. & quot; There are insights that we gain from the movies, and from fiction, from fun popular culture stuff, that actually can really help us think about the way that science works, and also the way science is communicated, & quot; he said.

And as to why people like reading about zombies and watching zombies so much, Schlozman points to the impersonal nature of things in our society, from waiting in line in the DMV to being placed on hold on a call with a health insurance company. Think about all the situations in daily life where you sense a general lack of respect for humanity, and zombies make a little more sense. & quot; The zombies themselves represent a kind of commentary on modernity, & quot; Schlozman says. & quot; We' re increasingly disconnected. That might be the current appeal. & quot;