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Antibiotic Use In Babies Increases Risk Of Asthma, Allergies September 30, 2003 Humans Get Personality Altering Infections From Cats Professor Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in Prague has discovered evidence that infection by intracellular protozoan parasite toxoplasma gondii (T.
He found the women infected with toxoplasma spent more money on clothes and were consistently rated as more attractive. We found they were more easy-going, more warm-hearted, had more friends and cared more about how they looked, he said. However, they were also less trustworthy and had more relationships with men. By contrast, the infected men appeared to suffer from the alley cat effect: becoming less well groomed undesirable loners who were more willing to fight. The parasite infects cats and is passed on to rats by cat feces.
LONDON - Scientists have discovered a parasite that inhabits rats and makes them feel a suicidal attraction for cats. The parasite, which infects as many as one in five rats, can also affect humans. The parasite, nicknamed the love bug but scientifically known as Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular protozoan, infects the rodent's brain, inducing an effect similar to Prozac so it becomes less fearful of cats. U College London T gondii researcher Dr Dominique Soldati says once infected you have it for life and it gradually grows. Once you are infected you cannot get rid of this parasite and the numbers of them slowly grow over the years, she said.
The scientists set up a wild enclosure for rats, with different smells in each corner. Rats infected by the parasite were attracted to the smell of cat urine. The minds of infected rats are subtly altered so that they become less able to avoid getting captured and eaten by cats. Cat feces that are eaten by rats serve as a way to spread the disease to rats that the cats can then eventually capture and eat.
scientists are looking for ways to stop and destroy this parasite once it has infected humans. T gondii has evolved a remarkable ability to survive in its host, typically for long periods of time, with minimal pathogenicity and in a variety of cell types. However, the mechanisms by which this obligate intracellular parasite becomes a master at manipulating the structures and pathways of the host cell for its own nefarious purposes to create a hospitable environment remain difficult to analyse in the background of a nucleated host cell.
especially dangerous for children born to women who become infected during pregnancy. Toxoplasma, mainly transmitted by consumption of contaminated meat or by cat faeces, chronically infects half the world's population. The pathogen is a leading cause of neurological birth defects in children born to mothers who contract the disease during pregnancy and can cause fatal toxoplasmosis encephalitis in immunosuppressed patients. Scientists hope that understanding the gene's function will aid efforts to develop drugs that target and block the way Apicomplexa parasites penetrate host cells. Women who want to have children should probably give away Fluffy to post-menopausal women who show signs of promiscuity and large tasteful wardrobes. Cats are making our women less trusthworthy and more superficial while they are making men into scruffy loners who are unwilling to follow rules.
But since kitties are fluffy, make cute purring sounds, and occasionally rub up against people's legs they are considered adorable by many. This leaves them free to operate in plain sight to undermine Western Civilization while every single one of them affects an air of total indifference and disinterest.
presents an excellent analysis on the question whether Flegr's work has discovered a real effect on humans. My take on it is that while it isn't clear that Flegr has proved his case it is plausible in part because the human domestication of cats happened fairly recently (in ancient Egypt if memory serves) in human evolution. So a deleterious effect on humans of a cat parasite seems like something humans wouldn't have had time to evolve to develop an effective response. By contrast, the likelihood of getting harmful parasites from dogs would seem lower since humans have been living with dogs for a much longer period of time.
And I thought my tendency to "dislike following rules" was a result of my family's history of stubborness. Paul Banks said at October 1, 2003 01:15 PM: I have three cats; Anyhow, I would be curious to find out if infected mothers can pass it to their children. Also, does anyone here see a phsiological explanation for the Egyptian feline fetish in the works? Paul John F said at October 1, 2003 01:37 PM: Is anyone checking with dogs for the perfect defence?
Randall Parker said at October 1, 2003 02:06 PM: Paul, I almost added a comment ot the original article about how this explains the collapse of Pharaonic civilization. Maybe Cleopatra gave Caesar or Marc Anthony cats to take back to Rome that eventually caused the collapse of the Roman Empire as well. But since I've already been exposed to a great many cats I fear it is too late for me. I can only hope medical science will find a solution before my mind is too far gone.
John said at October 1, 2003 08:59 PM: I believe that Paul Ewald's book, "Plague Time", may also have mentioned toxoplasmosis. He is convinced that many of the "lifestyle diseases of aging", which are prevalent in the civilized world, are actually caused, or partly caused, by bacteria and viruses. There are several of these diseases mentioned, guaranteed to increase your paranoia. And, what happens when toxoplasmosis, alcohol, illegal injectable drugs, and the AIDS pandemic start working synergistically? Is it time to start stockpiling food, guns, antibiotics, and razor wire in your bomb shelter?
Mike said at October 2, 2003 10:01 AM: This seems to lend weight to the theory that everything about us - personality, intelligence, talent, preferences - is a result of nothing more than brain chemistry. Oleg D said at October 2, 2003 12:29 PM: Well, the paranoid can get checked and if the infection is there it can be treated with pyrimethamine and sulfonamides.
Jay Solo said at October 2, 2003 02:52 PM: After I started reading this, at times I was convinced it was fictitious and intentionally humorous. Then again, truth can be pretty strange and funny sometimes. Paul Banks said at October 2, 2003 05:28 PM: Look, there are theories that rain triggered a psychedelic reaction to the food the French ate that lead to the Fr. I don't think it is that much of a stretch to think the same could happen via polluted food supplies.
Randall Parker said at October 3, 2003 06:07 PM: Rich, I've liked all the cats that I've had. As a child I had persians and angoras that used to sleep on my bed or even along side when it was the depth of winter. Though I happen to like dogs more than cats and Australian Shepherds most of all. Heck even my last Aussie liked cats and didn't ever try to hurt the cats I had. As for the tone of my post: others thought it was a joke. But they really do appear to carry a parasite that causes harm to at least some people who are infected by it. I'm not going to ignore that fact just because I like cats. Keeping them "hygenic" is not going to keep you from getting T gondii. But you probably already have T gondii and so do I T gondii gotten from cats is probably what is causing brain damage in people with advanced AIDS. It is also causing smaller alterations in personality among the general human population. Karl Hallowell said at October 4, 2003 06:22 AM: Look, there are theories that rain triggered a psychedelic reaction to the food the French ate that lead to the Fr. I don't think it is that much of a stretch to think the same could happen via polluted food supplies. The fungus in question is called "Rye Ergot" and it creates hallucinagenic compounds when it grows on wet rye crops.
Joseph Hertzlinger said at October 4, 2003 09:23 PM: I thought cat owners were weird from living with cute adorable furry little psychopaths. asp Matt said at October 6, 2003 09:51 AM: I've always found that my pussies do strange things to my personality. FunnyBlo...
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