October 2021    
         
         
 
     
  Monster matters  
     
  Growing up in North Carolina, I was obsessed with local legends—particularly the beasts. To me, they existed in the realm of possibility, if not probability. Lake Norman’s ancient reptilian or enormous catfish-like monster. The Uwharrie National Forest’s resident Bigfoot. And the Beast of Bladenboro—a reportedly vampiric cat-dog hybrid that hunted livestock and pets in the 1950s. Many believe it was a Carolina panther, last officially sighted in 1938.  
     
  One sunny day, while volunteering at a big cat rescue, I heard a horrific shriek emanate from the woods: it sounded like a woman screaming or a baby crying. It turned out to be a cougar caterwauling, and I then viscerally understood how wildlife could conjure legends, just as the barn owl likely served as inspiration for the banshee.  
     
  Nature is full of wondrous, fearsome, cryptic creatures. (Welcome to the nightmare of deep-sea gigantism.) It stands to reason that there are plenty more out there to be discovered, and the monster moniker may simply be a mystery yet unsolved.  
     
  Larger than life  
     
 
Loch Ness Monster
 
 
     
  The 1934 “surgeon’s photo,” Nessie’s most famous portrait, was revealed to be a hoax by one of the conspirators in a deathbed confession. (Photography by Marmaduke Wetherell)  
     
 
     
  UChicago biochemist Roy P. Mackal, SB’49, PhD’53, spent the second half of his scientific career as a cryptozoologist—a seeker of hidden animals. He searched for the Loch Ness Monster, the mokele-mbembe (a living dinosaur rumored to roam the Congo River Basin), and other mysterious creatures.  
     
 
  Monster shares the same root as premonition, demonstrate, and monitor. They all arise from the Latin monere: “to warn, remind, or instruct.”  
 
       
  He never abandoned his scientific ideals, but Mackal felt trapped by the confines of his lab. He made groundbreaking discoveries about the smallest microbes on earth—viruses contained in test tubes—but he wanted something bigger, wilder, able to consume him. Rather than return to his bench and his “cute little scientific problems,” as he called his biochemical work, he chased larger-than-life legends and rose to fame as a “monstrologist.”  
     
 
 
  Creature features  
     
 
     
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A biologist takes a deep dive into the science of creatures from the deep and other B-movie monsters.
 
     
     
     
 
     
  2  
     
 
An Argonne computer simulation based on epidemiological modeling determined that Chicago could be overrun by zombies in 60 days.
 
     
     
     
 
     
  3  
     
 
Many legendary creatures, including Nessie, are imagined upon the notion of dinosaur-era species surviving in the modern day. Meet some of those species discovered by UChicago researchers.
 
     
     
 
         
         
    Spotlight    
         
         
 
     
  The truth is out there  
     
 
Alien with DNA
 
 
     
  (Collage by Joy Olivia Miller)  
     
 
     
  Should aliens be considered monsters? Depends—do you picture E.T. or a xenomorph? The truth is, we have no idea what aliens would look like (though biologists can make educated guesses).  
     
  If and when we find extraterrestrial life is still up for debate, with astrophysicists and planetary scientists on both sides. Some suspect we already have.  
     
     
     
  In case you missed it  
     
 
 
 
Alcohol use disorder: Scientists consider the role of pleasure in addiction.
 
 
Vitamin D: During the pandemic, vitamin D has its day in the sun.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Support UChicago biological sciences.  
     
 
     
 
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