Cat's parasite that can control your mind

Cat's parasite that can control your mind

Cats have a reputation as being out of the way and away, when they are really just adorable, loving little floofballs with some serious trust issues. Once you win that trust you will never have a cold turn again, but talk to cat foes and you could hear all that love comes at a price: brain-housing parasites and the potential for some mind control, the kind of link bad guy.

Do not listen to these people. The control of the spirit they are talking about is actually the work of a tiny little cat parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, and it's such a weird-but fascinating-thing that we still do not know exactly how it all works. We know that Fluffykins is guilty of nothing except living in the circle of life, and he does not really control your mind.

Something else is. Perhaps. A little. It's complicated, so let's talk about why having a cat parasite hibernating in your brain could be a good thing, and why there is absolutely no reason to live in fear of cats. (Except when they look at nothing, they are probably looking for ghosts, and then you should be very scared.)

1 The parasite in your brain

You have probably heard cats are one of the main carriers of Toxoplasma gondii (photo), the unicellular parasite that causes all the noise. More specifically, parasites live in cat poop, but this is not the only place where you can find it. You can also pick it up by eating contaminated meat, and the CDC says it is usually pork, game and lamb, although any undercooked meat is a potential risk. You can also come into contact with it in the soil, on unwashed fruits and vegetables, or on foods prepared in a kitchen where cross-contamination is the norm.

It's almost terribly common. The CDC says about 60 million US residents live with this little hitchhiker, and according to the Atlantic, researchers estimate about one-third of the world's population has one. In other words, you might as well name yours now, because there is a good chance that you have it. (And there are tests that can detect it, if you're curious.)

You probably would not know that you caught him. When you are infected, you could go down with what feels like a little cold. That passes, and your immune system keeps it online. Only if your immune system is severely compromised could it start to wreak havoc, and if it does, it will attack your brain and eyes. Ouch. It is estimated that as many people must be killed as malaria.

2 Sometimes the voices are real

The story of how we discovered Toxo's powers is pretty brilliant, and that's the science proof is going on so weird. In the 1990s, a Czech scientist named Dr. Jaroslav Flegr became convinced that there was a living parasite in his brain, influencing his personality and guiding his decisions. Ha, mad scientist, right? Not this time.

Flegr told the Atlantic his work began when he read a book on the Platypus, which invades the ant's nervous systems and paralyzes them for easy prey for the sheep-the worm's final destination. He did look at his own behavior, and he realized that he was developing a tendency to do hazel stuff. He entered the traffic, crossed the busy streets without looking, and even spoke openly of his aversion to the Communists in power. The shots did not bother him, and he realized it was not normal.

He went to Charles University in 1990 and joined a thorough study in Toxo. There, he was able to examine the infected individuals and the life cycle of the parasite. Essentially, the only place where the parasite can reproduce is inside a cat. Once he leaves the cat, he must come back in-or die trying. Since humans are not usually prey for cats, most of us are a "Dead End" host ... or are we?

3 Reversal of the fear switch

By the time Flegr got on board with the research, they had already discovered something weird about the infected rats. They were more active, less cautious and more inclined to wander in open spaces. Things got even stranger when Joanne Webster, an Imperial College London parasitologist (via the Atlantic) introduced the smell of a cat. She put infected rats in pens that had different areas treated with different scents: cat urine, rabbit urine, and clean rat odor. The rats became so obsessed with the cat smell that the researchers dubbed it "Fatal Feline Attraction."

"Rats are not people!" you shout. But chimpanzees are more humane than some people you probably know, and in 2016 researchers in Gabon introduced both infected and uninfected chimpanzees with the scent of their natural predator, the leopard. The infected chimpanzees were all on the scent study while uninfected counterparts were not so keen, but when scientists exposed them to the scent of Lions and Tigers-not their natural predators-it was There was no difference (via the independent).

The conclusion is a strange one: the cat parasite changes the behavior to make it more likely that the host will be devoured by a cat predator. Another piece of the puzzle was provided by the National Institutes of Health research in 2011, when researchers found the presence of Toxo in rats activated parts of the brain related to sex. Instead of causing fear, the smell of cats transformed rats. Fatal attraction, indeed.

4 Playing in the traffic

The influence of Toxo on human behavior was not documented until 2002, when Dr. Flegr found (via vice) evidence that the parasite was altering human behavior just as he was guiding the hosts of rats and chimpanzees in humans. jaws of their feline predators. One difference in behavior he noticed in himself was his tendency to become oblivious to car horns, and he also started crossing the street without looking. It is therefore not surprising that he found his first piece of evidence by analyzing traffic patterns.

Infected drivers were about 2.6 times more likely to find themselves picking themselves up on the sidewalk after being in a car accident. Flegr parallels this human version of risk-taking behavior with rats and chimpanzees, and it's a big deal. This was the first indication that the parasite we thought to be harmless and totally under our control was, in fact, affecting us. It's a serious trick in conspiracy theory.

5 Once, we were prey

Vice sat down with Flegr to discuss his work in depth, and he had some fascinating things to say about why we are part of this cycle at all. At a glance, it does not seem like much sense. When was the last time you heard about someone being devoured by a cat? (Aside from the occasional rumor of someone Housecat ate them after their death, which happened very rarely.)

But Flegr says that we once were a completely viable vehicle to get Toxo back into cat hosts and, in some parts of the world, we are still. He suggests that for thousands of years, those glowing eyes in the dark were a very real danger, and Toxo's contribution to our poor life choices was designed to make us more likely to be eaten by this Lion or the tiger. Flegr says he has found evidence in the personality questionnaires given to infected and uninfected people, and says that infected people are much less afraid of things like the forest or the deepest, darkest night. In other words, they are premium for hunting big cats at night.
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6 The gender gap

Flegr also found Toxo does not change all human behaviors in quite the same way. He told vices that infected women were more likely to become more sociable, friendly and morally (although, he says, no more promiscuity). Infected men, on the other hand, have become more guarded, more prone to jealousy, and more likely to break or bend the rules.

These reactions are pretty much polar opposites, but Flegr thinks he knows what's going on. He says it's possible that the parasite is interacting with the way people react to chronic stress, and the opposite personality changes seen in infected people are not that strange at all. He says that since men tend to withdraw during times of stress and women tend to reach, it is possible that the parasite is putting the host under extreme stress, and those around them are only to see the protests outside of that.

7 It could be good ... or bad

Absolutely none of this sounds good, does it? The idea that we are not in control of our own emotions or behavior is a terrifying prospect, and that's why some people swear by tin hats. But more research has suggested that it is almost impossible to say how it will affect us.

Ann-konan stock of the University of Dresden (via the Atlantic) puts it like this: "It interferes with brain chemistry, but the parasite itself does not intend to harm anyone. He always acts by the same mechanism ... It's just that humans are very rarely prey to cats, it does not help its purpose. "

And that means at the end of the day, the effects of the parasite on humans is pretty dusted. There have been links to an increased likelihood of developing mental illness, but stock work also shows that there is the potential for some good changes, too. His team found the infected people had faster response times when they needed to respond to changing stimuli, and there is also evidence that Toxo increases the amount of dopamine-it's the feel-good chemical-in the brain. In rats, it is specific to the pathway that catches them, but in humans it is more complicated. The whole system is flooded, and different people may have different reactions.

8 A hostile hitchhiker

The researchers actually discovered the process Toxo uses to infect what is essentially an interim host. Scientists in Melbourne (via Neuroscience News) found the parasite diverts a healthy, human cell to create a kind of bunker that provides it with everything it needs to survive in a dormant state. The cell releases proteins into the human cell, which then manipulates a person's chemistry to store starches - think of a bear hibernating for the winter.

Fortunately, our immune system remains above this kind of thing, at least in healthy people. Science is still working to determine some of the precise mechanisms, but they know that a healthy immune system will form cysts around Toxo's small pockets. Joanne Webster of Imperial College London (via Atlantic) says that it is possible for increased dopamine levels to come because of cysts and an increase in a particular enzyme that is key in developing the cysts and dopamine. What kind of impact the cyst has on the brain tissue around it is not quite clear-not yet, at least.

9 There are other creatures controlling the mind there

As if a parasite controlling the mind were not bad enough, it is not a creature that creates precedents by any means. Let's take a look at one of the others, a parasitic wasp called Polysphincta gutfreundi. The Smithsonian scientists did a series of experiments to see what kind of wasps effect had on the life cycle of Orbe weaving spiders, and the results were downright odd.

The researchers found the wasps have a weird way of disguising their cocoons. Basically, females lay their eggs on the spider and when they hatch, the larvae begin life by puncturing the spider's skin and feeding on their host. During the week, they are hitching a ride on the spider, the scientists think they are also injecting it with a diversion of the chemical mind that influences how they flip their canvases. Instead of the delicate canvases they usually make, they start spinning canvases that look like they've been influenced by a bad LSD Trip. Once the larvae ripen a bit and the web is done, it kills the spiders, throws it aside, and builds a cocoon in the center of the web. The wasp matures, broods, and the cycle begins again. You never thought you'd pity a spider, huh?

10 No, it does not make you crazy ... probably

One of the things you may have heard about the Toxo parasite is that it makes people more prone to mental illness, especially schizophrenia. It's terrifying, but a 2016 study from Duke University (via Discover) looked at more than 1,000 people and found that there was no link between infection and mental illness. About 28 percent of their control group (which was composed of people born in New Zealand in the early 1970s) were infected, and finally showed no correlation between infection and IQ, depression, schizophrenia, the offenses of conduct, accident claims, or criminal convictions. Other studies, including one with a sample of 7,440 individuals, did not support a link between Toxo infection and mood disorders.

University College London (via Medical Daily) also examined the claim that when cats are present in the household of a pregnant woman or a child, the child is more vulnerable to mental illness on the road. Good news for cat lovers: in the 5,000-person sample pool, there was no link between cat ownership and mental illness or disability. Justified!

11 Keep your cat, the CDC says it's OK

Now, the role of your cat in all this. It's undeniable that they play a vital role in the life cycle of this weird parasite of cat, but according to the CDC, there is absolutely no reason to give up your cat-even if someone in the house is or plan to become pregnant. They do recommend pregnant women stop cleaning the litter, however. Who says there is no benefit to being pregnant?

They also say that there is no chance of picking up the parasite by stroking even a cat that is infected because it is not transmitted by the fur. All this is a big reason to keep your cats indoors, as the CDC says they become infected by eating small animals that carry the parasite. Keep them indoors, and the problem is nonexistent. And you can absolutely start now. Because the cat is part of Toxo's life cycle, they can only pass along the infection for about two weeks after they become infected themselves. The parasite itself dies between one and five days after being passed out of the cat system, so you can not blame Fluffykins for this one.

الوسوم: animals