Who does not know Rick and Morty, the ingenious animated series created by the crazy minds of Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Adult Swim? For all those who did not know what we are talking about (heretics!), Just know that the series tells of the (dis) adventures of Rick, the most brilliant scientist in the Universe, and his little awake nephew Morty.
The peculiarity of the cardboard, however, it is the incredible use that is made of science, who leads – obviously – in science fiction, between time travel, multiverses and who has more and more of them. There is no lack of continuous quotes to pop culture – from episodes entirely inspired by cult such as Jurassic Park and Inception, to the appearance of Elon Musk – and ingenious situations that are shown during all the episodes. However, the most curious can ask a question: how realistic are the scientific ideas of the show and how accurately are they portrayed? Read on to find out.
The multiverse
Let's start with one of the most fascinating concepts of the whole series: the multiverse. The world in which Rick and Morty is set exists as part of the multiverse. What is it about? In modern physics the multiverse is a hypothesis that postulates the existence of other universes outside our spacetime, often referred to as "parallel dimensions". This model (accepted by physicists such as Stephen Hawking and Michio Kaku), was reaffirmed as a possible consequence of some scientific theories, especially string theory and that of eternal inflation.
What is it about? In a nutshell, during the birth of the Universe – according to different theories – the events that could have occurred given rise to a "bubble universe", a sort of fractal in which each of these bubbles contains an entire universe.
Pickle Rick
In one of the most iconic episodes of the entire series, Rick turns – literally – into a cucumber, to "sneak away" from family therapy. However, after getting his new form he realizes he has a small problem: he can no longer move. So, after a succession of events, "Pickle Rick" ends up in the sewers, where he decides to use the body of some cockroaches to build an exoskeleton and move.
His solution is that hijack the nervous system of cockroaches to move, using his tongue on the brain of insects to control them. This fact seems to be – in part – scientifically ascertained: there is, in fact, a point in the group of nerve cells of a cockroach (since they do not have real brains) which can be hit to make their legs move. Of course, what Rick has done still awaits confirmation from science.
Parasite
In episode four of the second season, the Smith family is "infected" by alien parasites who plant false memories. Such powerful parasites do not exist (fortunately) in real life, but some of them are equally frightening and they can really tamper with the guest's brain.
The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects the ants, making them climb to make them climb on top of a leaf, and then escape through the host. The reason is to guarantee the capillary distribution of its spores. The larvae of the Paragordius tricuspidatus, however, after feeding a little with their hosts (crickets or grasshoppers), insinuate themselves into their brains to command them to head into water sources, a habitat not suitable for the insect but excellent for the parasite; once the unfortunate worm owner ends up in the water, the latter drowns, thus allowing the parasite to exit (we do not put images to avoid nightmares, ed).
There are also such "monsters" that influence human behavior, such as Toxoplasma gondii found in cat feces, linked to symptoms similar to schizophrenia in people.
clone
Another common "Rick and Morty" theme is human cloning and manipulation of the genome of the latter, a topic taken lightly (since we are talking about a cartoon), but which has been debating the scientific community for years. There are various episodes in which Rick creates a clone of himself or of other characters and, during the viewing of the episode, one often wonders: but is it possible to do it nowadays?
Scientists have made significant progress on the matter since 1997, the year of the birth of the world-famous Dolly sheep. Many are confident that it may be possible to clone even a human being, but many countries around the world are against this unethical practice. Have they ever tried? Yup, in 1998 a group of scientists started cloning a human embryo. The experiment was stopped when the embryo reached the size of four cells. The argument remains thorny and many states around the world prohibit this technique.
Almost all of this information was taken from a book: "The Science of Rick and Morty: The Unofficial Guide to Earth's Stupidest Show", written by Matt Brady.