Maddenation
The Return of the Puppet Masters
You want to read something cool? Check this out - The Return of the Puppet Masters - not to be confused with the Master of Puppets. The article is by Carl Zimmer and from The Loom. It’s about brain-altering organisms, specifically Toxoplasm gondii. This sucker (experts estimate that 1/2 the world is infected with it) might be linked to schizophrenia. Take a read - the article describes a very interested experiment with rats and cats’ urine.
Here’s a clip.
“Are brain parasites altering the personalities of three billion people? The question emerged a few years ago, and it shows no signs of going away.
I first encountered this idea while working on my book Parasite Rex. I was investigating the remarkable ability parasites have to manipulate the behavior of their hosts. The lancet fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum, for example, forces its ant host to clamp itself to the tip of grass blades, where a grazing mammal might eat it. It’s in the fluke’s interest to get eaten, because only by getting into the gut of a sheep or some other grazer can it complete its life cycle. Another fluke, Euhaplorchis californiensis, causes infected fish to shimmy and jump, greatly increasing the chance that wading birds will grab them”
David • News • 01/24/06 • 2 comments
Comments
Dad • 01/26/06 • 11:26 AM:Parasites are evil! If half the world’s human population is infected with this bugger, one has to assume it is having some effect, even in otherwise “normal” people. Holy “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” Batman!
David • 04/16/07 • 10:14 AM:NPR just did a segment on this Sneaky Parasite that infects rats to cats. Have a listen.
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