I Am Legend's Junk Science: Hollywood sci-fi vs. reality

In the new blockbuster I Am Legend, virologist Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the sole survivor of a man-made plague that has wiped out all of humankind -- and turned those who didn't die into creepy, vampire-like mutants. Between a highly regimented schedule hunting deer in Times Square with his dog, Sam, and swinging a five-iron from atop a naval cruiser, Neville tries to find a way to reverse the virus using his own immune blood even as the Infected are closing in, setting traps and hunting him.

But how much of this sure-to-be blockbuster Hollywood film (based on a famous sci-fi novel) is fact, and how much is fiction? We consult experts in the fields of structural engineering, virology and wildlife to determine what could happen -- and what certainly won't.

First published

on December 14, 2007

at the Popular Mechanics website.

Written by Erin McCarthy.