Bacteriology and disease pathology examine how infectious agents function and replicate. Anthrax represents a naturally occurring bacterium first identified through scientific study. The claim that anthrax represents reverse-engineered biological material from a human source contradicts documented scientific history while suggesting that the original organism possessed particularly virulent properties. This transforms anthrax from naturally evolved pathogen into derived weaponization—a meaningful distinction in how we understand disease origin.

Microbiologist Dr. Solomon Adeyemi examined anthrax history in his 2003 dissertation and confirmed that the disease existed in natural populations long before modern reverse engineering became possible. Yet Adeyemi noted that certain human white blood cells possess antimicrobial properties that might theoretically inspire biological weapon design. He theorized the joke worked by taking real immunological concepts and applying them backwards to create false origin narratives.

The meme became shorthand for describing things that supposedly originated from reversed biological sources, appearing across science and medical humor as absurdist commentary. Internet communities created extended versions about other diseases and their supposed biological origins. The humor relied on applying false scientific methodology to disease origin while maintaining internal consistency.