Slashdot Mirror
Mind Control Parasites in Half of All Humans
iiii writes "According to a Yahoo News
story, half of the world's human population is infected with Toxoplasma,
a parasite shown to alter the brain function of rats, inducing them into behavior that benefits the parasite but is suicidal for the rat. So what affect does it have on humans? Article comes complete with Heinlein 'Puppet Masters' reference. I call dibs on using Toxoplasma as a name for my rock band."
Insert Political/religious/OS statement here.
Really should be more insightful than funny, but that's not for me to decide.
I for one have ALREADY welcomed our parasitic overlords.
"I'm going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f***ing kill Google"
Shhhhh, be quiet! Don't give DARPA any idea!
I wonder how many people are going to blame their inability to work harder (if at all) on this parasite on Monday.
HYPNOGERMS!!!
...of God's Intelligent Design(TM) here on Earth!!
Move along.
'Mind control parasites':
...
...)
'Toxoplasma'? I thought they were called politicians
(if only it was _only_ half of all humans
-wb-
I favor unreasonably huge subsidies to the brain slug planet.
Does it happen to affect 51% of Americans?
... and then they built the supercollider.
There's already a German punk band called Toxoplasma.
...as wikipedia knows:)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasma_(Punkband
They actually also have the according website:
http://www.toxoplasma.de/
Its no wonder so many are infected.
Us males can't stop licking pussy!
liqbase
All the posts so far seem to be joking about this, but it sorta freaks me out!
It seems to be strong evidence that parasites can control the behavior of a host in fairly complex ways, which opens up alot of sci-fi movies for a real life encore.
Anyone familiar with these parasites in more detail? Any information? Are there other parasites that humans have that do cause changes of behavior?
How do these things evolve? Are they complex lifeforms, or very very simple?
Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer 'ead!
Give 'em a twist, a flick o' the wrist...
...or at least it doesn't matter. Toxoplasma has been around and known for a long time. The only real news is that infection rates are *down* (from something like 90% iirc not so long ago) because humans are spending less and less quality time with rodents. This mostly concerns pregnant women, who risk losing their fetus if the *catch* toxoplasma during the pregnancy. So it is far better to be part of the 50% who is already infected so that your antibodies are prepped. So yeah, move along.
Congratulations! Now we are the Evil Empire
Or not. From the Wikipedia:
Toxoplasma gondii is a species of parasitic protozoa that lives in cats and other warm-blooded animals and can cause the disease toxoplasmosis in humans. It belongs to the Apicomplexa and is the only known member of the genus Toxoplasma.
and under "Toxoplasmosis"
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. It infects most animals and causes human parasitic diseases, but the primary host is the felid (cat) family. People usually get infected by eating raw or undercooked meat, or more rarely, by contact with cat faeces.
At least one third of the world population may have contracted a toxoplasmosis infection in their lifetime but, after the acute infection has passed, the parasite rarely causes any symptoms in otherwise healthy adults. However, people with a weakened immune system are particularly susceptible, such as people infected with HIV. The parasite can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and neurologic diseases and can affect the heart, liver, and eyes (chorioretinitis).
Much less interesting than TFA's speculation based on Toxoplasma's pathology in rats, but more credible.
What's more, TFA does not give any indication about how they came up with the "half the human population" figure.
Posted AC to avoid charges of Wikipedia-karma-whoring.
Is the article implying that it's NOT normal for someone to seek out cat urine-marked areas in one's house???
Look on the brightside. At least we know now what's driving the current administration.
Since toxoplasma makes rats unafraid of or even like cat urine, I think it's all a diabolical scheme by the cats. I used to think cats only tolerated us until they could figure out how to operate a can-opener, but now I've realised its a much more cunning scheme - to make humans the slaves of cats!
Old ladies are obviously the most affected after a lifetime of exposure, but its only a matter of time before we all become food suppliers and grooming slaves to our cat overlords. Just look what happens to people when you show them pictures of fluffy kittens, they go all gooey and unable to think straight - my girlfriend is a typical example, she defends her cats against any criticism, because they're so 'cute'.
We must act now, while some of us can still see what the cats are up to. We must destroy the cat menace!
Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.
So if this parasite had an effect on the minds of humans, you could almost say that we were puppets and they puppet-masters. With this, and the fact that Slashdotters seem to be increasingly turning to libertarianism, the future looks oddly Heinlein-esque.
The term "bio-rootkit" is not one I wish to see in common usage!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0974935999/qid=11 39738040/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/104-7398167-2312735?s =books&v=glance&n=283155
And don't forget those worms in Africa the tunnel through living human flesh, causing burning pain to make the host seek water for relief; only to continue it's life cycle. I heard recently that a type of virus may be linked to obesity; like the bactiria linked with ulcers.
However, cause and effect may be reversed; perhaps the virus likes fatty foods (fat humans); and perhaps that bactiria prefers the chemical balance in a bleeding stomach. But this is good research; seeing that elimiating the parasite from the rats changes behavior.
But, for the ultimate in behavior changing infections, you only have to look at your own mouth. Language. and the other aspects of human "culture"... "culture" is an interesting word, in that it can refer to fashionable art; or parasitical organisms.
Really, humans are not much more than hosts for self replicating information. everything from the English language to Hula Hoops. I bet if you imagine living forever inside a machine; you probably think of your 'mind' being preserved; instead of a machine that pumps fluids through a mindless body (insert Republican joke here)
All that being a Funny, Japanese-Speaking, Mozart-loving, Cat-loving, Slashdot-reading fellow is, is a combinatation of contaigous memes.
There is some evidence that the parasite is manipulating his intemediate host's(rodents) behaviour to end up in the final host: cats. Cat droppings spread it again to rodents nearby. This mechanism has two species that benefit from it (the parasite and the cat), so it is likely this interaction reinforces itself.
This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
Oh my god, this is a scientific explaination for the crazy cat lady phenomenon... I'm serious RTFA!!!
Cecil Adams wrote a article discussing toxoplama's effect on birth defects and schizophrenia, including the possibility that toxoplasma floods the human brain with LSD.
C'mon guys, this isn't a duplicate story. This one is referring to the other half of the population. The truth is that we're all infected. ;-)
There are 10 kinds of people; those who know ternary, those who don't, and those now hunting for a dictionary.
Toxoplasma is actually the eggs for body thetans. If you do not want to believe this, read this link
The earth is a battlefield, my friend. I'm going to get audited errrr tested.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
A citation from the article: T. gondii cyst infection appeared to decrease novelty seeking behaviors and reduce psycho-motor intelligence in men.
"Just look what happens to people when you show them pictures of fluffy kittens, they go all gooey and unable to think straight"!!
I just hope I made sure to post this anonymously!
I for one have ALREADY welcomed our parasitic overlords.
It's them parasites that made you do it in the first place.
How do I kill the parasites controlling me?
For a minute there, I thought the article was talking about women...
eTrade SUCKS
Go Humans!!!
My sig sags.
Most women are cat lovers. ;)
Most men will say most women are schizo.
The prosecution rests your honor.
0- Eamonman Proud member of DNRC
How does one tell if they are infected?
These aren't the droids we're looking for.
Saving the World: One Drink at a Time
Toxoplasma has been linked to slowed reaction times in humans.
SLM
main() {1;}
I just do what the microbes tell me.
I....dont....think....this....is....a....problem.. ..I....feel....fine
and....everying....is....right....with....the....w orld.
You don't need a lab to make mud.
Maybe the parasite causes humans to surrender?
What makes mind control interesting, that is not usually thought of, is awareness of it. Since our brain is controlling everything we do, altering its functioning would propably go unnoticed. In movies characters usually try to fight againts mind control and even in everyday thoughts we imagine mind control to be something that is againts our will. When you think of it a bit further, you might notice that what mind control actually does, is make our emotions balanced in the way that we actually want to do what it wants us to do. As stated in the article, rats repeatedly did things againts logical behaviour. Now, if you think how many of your actions is based on logic and how many on emotions, you might be able to guess my point.
But then again, this is just my theory. I hope your can prove it wrong. Only variable that would definately prove it wrong, would be existence of a soul. It would provide us something that can't be affected by change of chemical balance in brain. But more likely is that each and every one of us is under some kind of mind control. Everything affects our emotions, from food to movies, regardless of if it resides physically in our brain or affects through our senses.
There's varying evidence, but the infection rate in the US is somewhere around 23% according to a report by the cdc. The infection rate also appears to be dropping.
AccountKiller
Every day, I wake up. I get a drink and read the paper, I check my blog feed, and then I look at Slashdot. Across the board I see headlines like "Microsoft hires person X" and "GM cuts this and that" and "Drought in Borneo" and "Economic growth at risk". Or even the supreme dullness indicator, the dreaded "trade summit".
Suffice it to say I've been waiting to see a headline like "brain-controlling parasites control 50% of the human population" for a long time. Thank you, Slashdot editors.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
... who voted for Bush?
I for one, welcome our Toxoplasmic Underlords!
Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
how do they know its half?
portfolio
If the net result is to increase the chance of being eaten, this explains Steve Irwin!
Seriously though, it'd be interesting to see if there's statistical evidence that Toxoplasma is more common in adrenaline junkies than stay-at-home types.
This is dyabolic!
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/nbb421/st udent2003/epl8/Blank%20Page%202.htm
Although the article don't explicitly says he was infected with Toxoplasma, I am pretty sure this is the cause, because the man worshipped cats, and his late paintings are rather lysergic (Toxoplasma is known to produce LSD)!
Well, there are two ways to deal with a "challenge" or imbalance such as toxoplasma:
try to avoid it to stay safe, or live with it and adapt over the generations.
So my guess is there are a people who actually are "reliant" on toxoplasma to lift their spirits.
But who am I to say for sure, we had cats.
I'm still trying to figure out what people mean by 'social skills' here.
Stop to think about that for a second.
This has profound implications far beyond the childish and disappointing messages listed above.
Haldol and an antimicrobial have the same effect on Toxoplasm infected human tissue. Even the implcations in this are staggering -- regardless of whether this pans out or not. Million's of people worldwide could be saved a tortous life, higher suicide rates, due to a pathogenic cause (and cure) of a mental illness. Don't dismiss that mother's with this are more likely to have kids that develop schizophrenia.
An australian recently won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering that a bacteria was responsible for the majority of stomach ulcers. What used to be a life long and potential dangerous disease is now cured with weeklong course of antibiotics.
This facinating discovery deserves more respect than it has gotten on slashdot.
This really explains everything about the whole world!
But what worries me is which 50% are the good guys and which are the bad?
Are the bad guys normal?
Are the good guys infected?
Is my wife infected?
How about my mistress?
What kind of litmus test is there to find out?
Is paranoia a symptom of the infection?
How can I kill them?
Will they infect me again?
Is there an antidote?
How about immunization???
Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
the file cabinet started harassing me again!
All your base ... nah..
Half your heads are belong to them.
Half the worlds population is infected with a mind controlling parasite which causes a 2.65 times increase in traffic accidents. This could be one of the most underestimated killers on the planet.
....
See the results of the study here:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/2/11
"Increased risk of traffic accidents in subjects with latent toxoplasmosis: a retrospective case-control study
Human latent toxoplasmosis leads to prolongation of reaction times [11] and changes in personality profiles [12,13]. These changes are probably side effects either of the rodent-aimed manipulative activity of Toxoplasma or of some pathogenic activity of the parasites in the brain. The changes cannot influence the risk of predation in modern humans; nevertheless, prolongation of reaction times could increase the risk of other incidents such as traffic accidents. If this is true then the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in participants in traffic accidents should be higher than in the general population living in the same area.
Here we report the results of retrospective case-control study that compares the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in persons injured in traffic accidents with the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in general population living in the same area.
The value of the odds ratio (OR) suggests that subjects with latent toxoplasmosis had a 2.65 (C.I.95= 1.76-4.01) times higher risk of a traffic accident than the toxoplasmosis-negative subjects. "
But obviously you're all infected.
This whole Toxo-mind-control-thing is nothing more than a decoy by the REAL mind control organism that spreads through fast food into human fat cells.
My kind mind-controlling parasite lets me in on all the secrets in exchange for a Big Mac every week.
Oh, and before you all go get tested for Toxo - look up the treatment drugs and their side effects. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
This may actually explain George Bush.
(This Science Fiction in the News story used with permission from Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction.)
That's not to say that the article has no merit, or that we shouldn't be aware of the foreign bodies inside of ourselves. But take it with a grain of salt.
The ______ Agenda
Before we get too carried away, note that the numbers indicate the number of people with the antibodies to toxoplasma gondii, not the number of people with active infection. Antibodies just mean you have been infected at some point in your life - and the mental status changes seem to be primarily in those infected as infants or born to infected mothers. This connects well with the known etiology of toxoplasmosis, and is why the MD tells your pregnant wife/girlfriend/mom to stay away from cats.
Still, it is really interesting how many diseases have been found recently to be of infectious etiology - ulcers (no, it's not the pizza), many forms of heart disease, and now possibly some forms of schizophrenia. Makes prevention at least plausible...
Using plain ol' text since 1968
Now I can cheat on my girlfriend and then say Toxoplasma made me do it.
When I first read the title of this article, I misread it as "Mind Control Parasites in Half-Life"...
You are not root, go away.
I wouldn't be so rabidly macho skeptical regarding negative effects of toxoplasma and cats. The toxoplasma gondii parasite is not a one-off infection event relevant only to pregnant women catching it. Once infected, you are infected for the rest of your life because our bodies are unable to get rid of the parasite, remaining in a state of latent toxoplasmosis. There is published, peer-reviewed evidence that people with latent toxoplasmosis have up to 5% slower reaction times and are more likely to suffer traffic accidents.
Scroogle
Ha! Kin Ah get uh witness!
Jesus is in me! Hah!
Take me now, lord!
Have ah got uh witness in here?!
He pick me!
Hah!
In other news: bacteria find that they are being used for slave labor in the Human digestive system. That same day they started protesting, forcing the human to call in sick for a day and flush many of the protesters down the toilet.
Ah... but how do you know "all humans" are "humans"?! hmmm
Sci-fi geeks, talk among yourselves... Now.
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
As it turns out the Times reported on this matter some time ago (unfortunately they have taken down the article...however ... appear to exhibit the "sex kitten" effect, becoming less trustworthy, more desirable, fun-loving and possibly more promiscuous. ... [They] spent more money on clothes and were consistently rated as more attractive. ... 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. They were more likely to be suspicious and jealous. "They tended to dislike following rules," Flegr said.
it reported the work of Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University Prague...
From the report in the times:
[Infected] women
Check this for more info.
I wonder if this is why cat owners defend their right for their cat to crap all over one's lawn, whilst at the same time throwing a hissy fit if your dog so much as looks at their's (declaration of interest here: my neigbour's a cat lover and threw one this morning, a fit not her cat. I've noticed logic does not have a great influence on her life)
Traffic fatalities in the US ---> 42,000 per year.
Around 30,000 of these deaths could be attributable to the risk seeking behaviour and lower reaction times caused by Toxoplasmosis. This would make it as dangerous as the flu virus and one of the biggest killers in the US.
That explains the results of the special election in California and the last two presidential elections.
Fight Spammers!
Only if you choose to stand too close to Barbra Streisand when she has a cold.
Blank until
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
...anyone up for a game of "The Sims"? *snicker*
My guess is that people who are allergic to cats are, most likely, NOT infected.
.... well, different, from the rest of us? As if they don't fit in to the system. ... ...
Ever notice how people who are allergic to cats are
You mean now I need tin foil for the inside of my head?
But seriously folks (I'm here all week) the human body is a work of art and a true miracle. Our bodies constantly fight off lots of things that are potentially bad voodoo. We have so many parasitic and bacterial symbionic organisms, it's a wonder that we do so well. It's not surprising that we have organisms that live only in our eyebrows and those that live only in our intestines.
I'm not surprised to find that we have such an organism.
A Passionate Independent Musician
If more than half the people have already been infected, how do we decide who is actually infected then?!!! Isn't it better to be infected now, just so that one can actually function in the society? Man such a scheme would be so insidious... reminds me of a fable - An evil witch poisons the well in Happy kingdom to get back at the Good King when he is out on a hunting trip... All the people in the happy kingdom go mad after they drink the poisoned water. What does the king do on his return? He takes a drink from the same well just to be able to rule again!
A while back, I was reading a site called "The Programmer's Stone." It is a site to recapture, explore and celebrate the Art of Computer Programming.
It turned out that The Programmer's Stone is only chapter 0 in a larger site, Reciprocality.org. Chapter 1 is about a human parasite they call M0.
"M0 is a previously unsuspected public health problem. It is ancient and vast, and only fragments of information regarding its origins and the psychological state of humans prior to its instantiation have passed down to us. It consists of a neurochemical effect induced by boring social conditions that people get addicted to like some athletes get addicted to their own adrenaline and end up B. A. S. E. jumping."
The other chapters, well, see for yourselves . . .
She must have 30 or 40 cats and she spends $500 or $600 dollers a month on vet bills. I finaly understand.
The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum. - O'Toole's Corollary
...not until your stomach rumbles and are inexplicably drawn to drink some.
I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
Please don't zap me with a cattle prod.
...from the responses to your comment that the right wing has maintained their Fair and Balanced(TM) sense of humor. You should have made the joke about Clinton, then they wouldn't be wetting their pants with outrage.
Let me introduce you to Ceti Alpha V's only remaining indigenous life form; what do you think? They've killed twenty of my people, including my beloved wife. Oh, not all at once and not instantly, to be sure. Their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion. Later, as they grow, follows madness, paralysis -- and death. These are pets, of course -- not quite domesticated.
That's better! Now: tell me why you are here -- and tell me where I may find James Kirk.
A dog thinks, you feed me...you must be god.
A cat thinks, you feed me...I must be a god.
Usurper_ii
Ron Paul
So basically, L. Ron Hubbard was right?
There's a buncha OTHER symbiotes that tag along for your ride. And I dunno bout you, but when my gut flora gets unhappy, _I_ get unhappy, and those feelings of explosive decompressions aren't good for MY health either.
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
... we know where they go.... polticians, war mongers, power mongers, criminals, Bush, etc...
Now we know why Bush is pro religion/fait and so anti-science....
A new twist to shrodingers cat.... huh?
war on terrorism..... to be changed to inocculation against toxoplasma
But whats the association between cats and people? does half the population have cats?
Is this why there is a warning regarding pregant women and cat feces in the home?
So, I guess it is toxoplasma, not midichlorians, that are responsible for "The Force." And here I was all these years thinking that was such a lame explanation!
No but the clintoplasma antibodies recently found in majority are beleaved to be the all thats left of the parasites after a dose of kerry powder.
"Don't you judge me Earl!" Yet another excuse for the fat, lame, lazy, stupid, apathetic, and underemployeed NASCAR fans.
See Cute Overload. It's hard to resist!! ARGH!
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
All this article tells me is that if I'm infected I will be less prudent about avoiding cat urine soaked areas...
While gross, does that really provide a threat to my existence?
So what affect does it have on humans?
Recent studies have suggested that symptoms include marked increases in spelling and grammatical errors, citing confusion of near-homonyms in particular.
I bet this is why the phrase, "Hey guys, watch me do this..." always ends in tragedy. Silly frat boys.
There are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who have the parasite, and there ware those who don't.
It kind of makes you wonder if those furry little animals are infected with some sort of parasite that makes them commit mass suicide.
Just to expand and clarify a bit:
1) The exact prevalence of toxoplasma infection in the world is hard to measure, but in the US, there are good measurements of the prevalence of _antibodies_ against the parasite, and these are around 50%. People with these antibodies are presumed to have been exposed and to harbor chronic latent infection. Most will never have any (known) symptoms.
2) The above is important because this latent infection can reactivate if the immune system becomes suppressed. For example, toxo encephalitis is second only to Pneumocystis pneumonia (in the US. -Second to Tuberculosis in the world at large) among severe opportunistic infections seen in AIDS.
3) It is also important since people _without_ antibodies are at risk of getting an acute infection, which can be dangerous to the fetus in a pregnant woman. This is why we measure toxo antibodies and advise pregnant, seronegative women not to change the catbox.
4) Toxo is also worth knowing about since it can occasionally cause symptomatic infection even in people with normal immune symptoms, most notably a syndrome that looks like mono (but tests negative on the "monospot").
5) This sort of life-long latent infection is quite common. Most of the world is infected with a variety of Herpes viruses, for example. In the particular case of the Herpes Simplex Viruses (HSV1 and HSV2), since they infect neurons, there has long been speculation that at least in some animals they might change the behavior of their hosts in ways that favor transmission.
6) There are also numerous known cases where parasites alter the behavior of their hosts in ways that help them spread. A few are cited in TFA. There are no proven human examples where the central nervous system is involved directly, but some common symptoms of infection involving peripheral nerve-mediated responses (e.g. sneezing) clearly have this effect.
7) host-parasite interactions have played an important role in many aspects of evolution (most obviously, the immune system) and the brain is certainly no exception. There are probably many subtle effects not yet understood, but these, involving complex behaviors, are difficult to really pin down experimentally. Therefore, it is important to be clear about what is real data (e.g. the mouse maze experiment cited in TFA) and what is speculation (e.g. that toxo may influence human emotions in a manner analogous to what was seen in mice; or that venereally spread HSV2 might influence primate sexual behavior).
God created us with immune systems and created us to be self healing...but with a catch. To have a healthy immune system, you have to eat good, vitamin-rich foods, drink pure water, get some sunlight and fresh air, get some exercise and get some good sleep...and be able to control stress.
Now huge amounts of people eat fast foods one, two, and three times a day, and the food is grown on burnt-out factory farms with zero minerals in the ground. We drink tap water with two poisons in it (chlorine and fluoride). Heck, some people never drink water that doesn't have a cup of corn syrup in it! And after they eat this crap, they take antacids that neutralize the very stomach acids trying to digest and get what little nutrition it can out of the so-called food eaten!
We cut sleep and then take pills or drink to sleep...and take pills to wake up. And in our waking hours, we reach for a pill for any little ache that comes along or antibiotics for every little sneeze.
We inject our little tiny babies with mercury and crap grown off of monkey livers and chicken embryos (or worse)...put the crap straight into their little veins.
Huge amounts of people don't exercise, and they stay inside for large amounts of time where the air quality is the worst, usually (and our news media constantly hits us with the message that sunlight causes cancer, anyway).
And when people get an infection like this, we poke fun at God for it! And when *you* get sick, you either blame God for it, or you pray to God to get healed...taking *zero* responsibility for the diet and lifestyle that got you sick in the first place (Ohhhh why, Lord? Why, did this happen to me???).
With this infection, it appears that about 50% of the people's immune system still works, in spite of our lifestyles. From what I see, they appear to be pretty intelligently designed.
Usurper_ii
Ron Paul
The article mentions that it leads to suicidal behavior in rats... Does it have any effect on human brains?
for why people vote for Democrats.
Actually, there is another hypothesized threat from Toxoplasma gondii that is a deadly risk even for people with just a dormant infection. (Toxoplamsa doesn't get eliminated by the immune system; it just goes dormant in cysts in the muscle tissue and brain and continues to effect its host for life.)
Latent toxoplasmosis seems to give people a significantly higher risk of getting in a car accident than people who do not have it. People with latent toxoplasmosis have slower reaction times and a tendency towards more risk-seeking behavior than people without, just like rats with the disease.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
It seems like this could have far-reaching implications for professionals whose jobs requires them to be responsible for a large number of human lives. Airline Pilots (god they'll demand even more money), Bus Drivers (not just a low/middle-class job anymore?), and Taxi drivers...for example... I wonder how long before some concrete laws and policies are set for humans infected with these parasites. Hopefully, it won't get too out of hand...
When an Arctic research team mysteriously kill each other and themselves only days after drilling deeper into the ice than ever before, Mulder and Scully accompany a team of doctors and scientists to investigate. They discover an organism which infects living creatures and amplifies the host's feeling of anger and paranoia, and the new team starts to deteriorate as they wonder who among them are killers. http://www.tv.com/ice/episode/498/summary.html
One of the author's premises is that the parasite alters the behavior of intermediate hosts. Problem is, brain infection in humans is not part of the host cycle. It is a dead end for the larvae. The scolex creates a marked inflammatory reaction in the brain and dies. It can grow to very large sizes, be mistaken for a tumor, and is the most common cause of seizure disorder world wide. Now, I wouldn't argue with someone who said causing seizures is altering behavior, but I would say that is not the kind of brain control the author postulates.
Now the link with schizophrenia and antipsychotics is interesting, but also probably wrong. Toxo infection rates are pretty low in US born; as far as I know, also, there is no correlation with schizoprhenia rates and toxo infection. Ultimately, I think this reflects the idea that schizophrenia is secondary to a combination of genetic predisposition and a in-utero 'insult', probably an infection of some sort (of which toxo could be one).
Cat feces bugs be damned!
--pyro_dude
the age old battle between the good and the evil, the cats vs the mice.
No matter who wins, we lose.
You can't handle the truth.
The parasite makes us tolerate, or even like, CATS. That keeps the life cycle going for the Toxoplasma better than if the kitties had to fend for themselves in the wild.
Am I the only one that remembers Futurama's brain slugs?
GIS for Futurama Brain Slugs
[]'s Carlos Cardoso - Becoming a brazilian ProBlogger, typo by typo
1. Toxoplasmosis can be contracted from Cat Poop 2. Slashdot nerds keep cats 3. Same nerds may or may not clean out litter pan (Plasmoid control?) 4. Same nerds allow cats to breed until they have 50 feline friends pooping all over the house. 5. Plasmoids tell nerd he likes the urine smell. 6. Nerd gives cats to other nerd friends. 7. Toxoplasmid profit!!
meh
Unless you want your kids to end up being like those crazy cat ladies, with brain-damaging cysts, get rid of your cat!
:-) )
(Buy a dog instead.
Any program relying on (nontrivial) preemptive multithreading will be buggy.
Perhaps this is all by design and as we look closer EVERYONE is infected with something like this.. might beI how we survive... or part of how we evolved ( as in it wasnt just the meat ) One never truly knows the complexity of nature.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
There are numerous studies which indicate that latest T. gondii cyst infection produces a noticeable drop in motor skills and intelligence. I wrote an article on this over at K5 a couple weeks ago. One of the comments linked to a study which showed a significant increase in risk of traffic accidents for those with latent T. gondii infection.
/. almost three weeks ago and was rejected within an hour... but that would be off topic.
However, the notion that this is a "mind control" parasite in humans is completely off base. A previous study showed that mice infected with T. gondii had increased risk of cat predation. Researchers believe that may be caused by increased dopamine levels in mouse brains as a result. But that is still speculative.
I could add that I submitted this story to
Hermes Conrad: Onto new business. Today's mission is to go to the brain slug planet.
Dr. Zoidberg: What are we going to do there?
Hermes Conrad: Nothing. Just walk around not wearing a helmet.
This is /. you insensitive clod!
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
Now it's all clear.
Is that what causes some people to have a few dozen cats in their homes? Meooooooooowwwwwwwwww
Mind Control Parasites in Half of All Humans
Are they our better half?
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
in Trainspotting. Don't you remember? It was that damned kitten.
Ive read that these parasited are more common in the UK or perhaps we only know of more cases there becuase people are looking harder.
It couldn't simply be because Britain is more full of crazy old cat women than anywhere else, could it?
I get your point, and love my cat, too, but the precautions need to be a bit more than you make out. Cats who "clean up" themselves by licking the fur around their rectum just push the infectious material around their fur. After the saliva dries, T. gondii remains infectious for some time afterwards. Really, pregnant women should wash their hands after handling cats.
That said, nobody should "re-home" an animal just because they're too lazy to take a little extra effort for 9 months, unless you're talking about "re-home" as in "here mom, take care of my cat for a few months and I'll take her back".
I do understand that the chance of becoming infected is low. It's important too to acknowledge that the damage of infection is catastrophic. (Pun fully intended)
Using plain ol' text since 1968
It's a secularist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
Sincerely;
Commander Ripper
I understand your point, and read the article you link for professional reasons some time ago. When they talk about the relative risk decreasing with time after infection, this poses a significant question - does the infection cause the problem, or does the immune response cause the problem (like arthritis following streptococcal infection)? Also, long latent cysts (again, reference the article you linked) present a diminishing relative risk over time. The study is not designed to determine whether that relative risk decreases to zero.
We do not know that dormant T. gondii infection is a risk in and of itself, because having the cyst form means that you once had the active form. We do know that previous infections present various problems whose severity seems to depend on:
1) Severity of infection
2) Age at which infection started
3) Length of time which has passed since infection
Which provides some circumstantial evidence that the active infection phase causes the majority of problems.
Using plain ol' text since 1968
If the causal link was as concrete as you described, people would already be cured of schitzophrenia with a treatment of anti-parasitic and anti-inflamatory drugs. Its just not the case, at present. (And as an aside, Haldol is out of vogue as an antipsychotic medication. Way too strong negative side-effects. Chlorpromazine and Zyprexa are more the flavors of the month. (Not sure if they have strong anti-parasitic medicative effects).)
It does give one hope that within our lifetimes, that schitzophrenia can be treated with effective medication.
There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
To label the effects of a parasitic infection on an organ as mind control is an unnecessary distinction. It's simply one of many possible parasitic infections that alter the functioning of the the body. If what we're evaluating is altered behavior, a typical flu offers a more immediate demonstration. Typical flu vicitms will (for a time) become less active, communicate less, etc. I think that what intrigues many about this particular instance is the concept of invisible, "subconscious" control... that something we're not aware of may be nudging us into different thoughts and feelings. This, however, implies that there is some uncorruptable state of free will which one ideally operates within, which simply isn't established. Our thoughts and actions are in situ the result of numerous interactions not apparent to our conscious consideration. We're just along for the ride, parasite or no.
Beyond this, if Toxoplasma gondii infection is indeed so prevelant, it's likely been a factor in the dynamics of human evolution, anyway. Our brains perhaps already assume the potential for such influence in their normal operation.
You're going for funny, but I think it's true.
At least some of the mind-control-symptoms it's reported to cause in people sound like positive changes.
I wonder if the reason we don't build immunities to it is because it's benefits outweigh it's harm.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Though circumstantial evidence seems to indicate that latent cyst infection within both muscle tissue and brain tissue appears to affect gene expression. But that's still speculation. Please note that I wrote that article as a lay person writer and not as an experienced researcher in the field.
So it lives in Republicans, then...
"Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
Now, if there's any justice, you'll be modded redundant. Quit yer whining!
"Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
... my psychotic, cat loving ex-girlfriend.
Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
You just described the UN when Bolton walks into the room.
"Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
So the young comedian steps into the spotlight, thinks of a random number, and slyly intones into the mic: "14925".
<crickets>
He scuttles sideways into the wings, shattered by embarassment. He asks the old comedian "did I pick a loser?"
The old comedian leans over, and whispers out of the side of his mouth "no, Groucho used to kill 'em with that one".
Young comedian: "why'd I bomb?"
Old comedian: "TIMING."
--
make install -not war
Toxoplasm should totally set up an endorsement deal, it would make lots of money. I mean, it already makes me eat Ben & Jerry's and surf for free pr0n for 7 hours straight. It couldn't possibly be a personality defect making me do that.
Nooooo....
Please stop stalking me, bro.
Sorry for bringing this up.
Rats are on the decline as is our exposure to their feces, etc in our food supply.
Dogs (known for licking their anus vigourously) seem to find cat feces an irresistable treat, whether from the litter box, or the garden.
"Mans Best Friend" also takes any opportunity it has to lick adults and children on the hands and face.
Dogs live in close proximity to us, and could be a vector here.
My dog (a rottweiler) hunts rats. She is very intelligent and aware, tho sometimes seems to have no fear ie heights, traffic, etc.
That's the price of being omnipotent, you know -- if it's in your power to fix anything with a wave of your hand, then of course people are going to blame you when things don't get fixed. If God can't handle the criticism, then perhaps he'd better get off his ass and pitch in more often. This whole "I love you all but I'm going to sit on my hands and watch you suffer and die because I think it builds character" schtick is a weak cop-out and frankly we should expect better from someone who styles themself as an All-Powerful Benevolent Diety. But I'm personally not worried -- if God can't deliver the goods, then maybe the competition will.
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
Reference: our news media.
The truth is that prolonged exposure to sunlight is actually a fairly good predictor of cancer. I say this as a emmber of a family prone to it, and with grandmother who has the very rare Merkel cell carcinoma described in the article.
That's not an exhortation to stay inside all the time. But you seem to be mocking the notion that exposure to UV radiation can cause cancer, and that's just bizarre.
Incidentally: if avoidance of fast food is such a good idea, shouldn't it have said something about it in the bible? As I recall, most of the dietary advice in the Bible is kinda contradictory.
Drink PURE water? You seem to think that pure H2O exists on earth. It doesn't. Water is The Universal Solvent. It ALWAYS has something dissolved in it.
(Not mentioning that drinking only pure water might kill you)
That certainly seems to explain the behavior of all the PHBs!
Now all I have to do is find some way to reprogram the little beasties to my advantage!
<cackles maniaclly>
The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power. -- Daniel Webster
I've always wondered if the personality differences exhibited in the population are an actual effect of the parasite, or simply a correlation of 'people who like cats also are likely to behave in these ways'. For that, there'd need to be a study comparing infected cat owners with non-infected cat owners (and even then, maybe infection rates rise with other behaviors / cultural things, like not being careful with the litter box)...
;-)
Anyways, given that I'm not a fan of cats, I've always been disturbed by people who fawn over them
My kitty wants to send you a 'gift'...
The latest Slashdot meme.
Language IS a virus! Enki told me so!
-- My Sig is a P228.
So let me get this straight: 84% of the French have a parasite which, in rats, causes them to surrender to their enemies.
See, the French always surrendering isn't their fault! It's the parasite!
A variant on this would be used to explain any number of possibly undesired behaviors, such as war mongering, etc. This has political ramifications. At least one political talk show host routinely calls the philosophy he is opposed to a mental disease. The obvious question there is "who is actually diseased?" Are Repubilcans and Democrats infected with different bugs, for example?
A more generic impulse would be towards religion, the big thing in the forest, in the Mountain, in the sky. The idea of a mechanism compelling non-survival behavior is similar to the ideas propounded in at least one religious group, although it is not their particular explanantion for the phenomena.
The politically incorrect will jump on this as an explanation for groups like PETA.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Here's some real info from one of the labs working on this. The Yahoo News story is terrible.
We mean you no harm.... here.. sit down... have a coke..... enjoy this dry tootsie-roll... you are happy... you are happy.... hey... why don't you turn on the TV... I think American Gladiators is on.... watch American Gladiators.... we are your friends... have anoher coke... there's a new episode of Survivor coming on soon.... we are your friends..
chown -R us
Gee, thanks. Was that the parasite talking ;-)
I *do* think there's a difference between regular cat owners, and people who obsess over their felines...it's the latter that I wonder about when stories of mind control parasites come up...
As women become more and more un-dateable, they accumulate more and more cats, eventually leading to the "another-old-woman-dies-and-is-eaten-by-her-cats" story. Toxoplasma infects the brain of cats and those that are around them, and because it's present in cat saliva, one can get a toxoplasma infection by a cat scratch. I would lay even money that 90% of those infected with toxoplasma (and thus make the world more unstable) are women.
So what affect does it have on humans?
Glowing eyes. *sage nod*
Midichlorians
Poor choice of words on my part. That isnt what i was trying to reference.
'design' as in 'design of nature'.. not some outdated deity..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
That is why we actively seek out the smell of cat urine.
(And this is only funny if you RTFA.)
That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
I don't ever remember being tested for this parasite. How can they make such a claim?
if(!toilet_paper) roll.replace(new roll);
The argument against specific human behavioral changes starts from the assumption that humans are a dead end for the parasite. Thus any effects on human behavior must only be by products of mechanisms on species on the normal propagation path because there is no evolutionary pressure that would produce specific effects on humans. But what if...
Rats (among other critters) eat human corpses if they are not properly buried. This would be a way for the parasite to enter rats again.
What if the parasite induces behavior in humans that leads to dead people lying around unburied. This could include anything from all-out wars to blood feuds and general reckless behaviour. Even behavior that somehow causes epidemies to spread out far and wide might fit the bill. Somebody should research toxoplasmosis among different demographies and correlate the results with things like war and gun nuttery and violent impulses.
This idea is not mine, I read some posts about this somewhere when googling for toxoplasmosis some time ago. There was also something about potential propagation path through increased fertility of females and thus passing the parasite on through offspring.
I saw this story off digg on the 8th. Then AP writes their article on the 11th. The two accounts are almost identicle in the first half too! Another AP writer ripping off a blogger?
I'd eliminate your cat.
You don't love it anyway. You're exposing it to raccoons, dogs, cars, skunks, bobcats, coyotes, wolves, radiator fluid, poisoned rats, birds of prey, people who shoot cats, etc.
For those that don't know, animal control will often lend out box traps. You can get your own for $20 to $70, depending on features desired. (folding, two trap doors, one trap door and one plain door, one trap door only, spring or gravity...) Bait it with warm shavings from a pork roast or beef roast. Anchovies work too.
Sometimes cat trappers drop off the cat before work, after having commuted to a different county or even state. Sometimes collars and tags get lost.
But hey, you don't love your cats anyway. I love my kids, who eat salad greens from my garden. There used to be a half dozen cats in my neighborhood, busy making the place smell and wiping out the native wildlife.
Like, my mother is, like, a total space cadet
She, like, makes me do the dishes and... CLEAN the cat box!
I am sure... that's like GROSS!
BARF OUT!
OH MY GOD!
Eventually, this works out just fine for Humanity.
Since Tg is 'targetted' on those most strongly attracted to Felids, and it induces an attraction for felid excreta*, those who are disabled by the aberant inclination in the first place will do themselves in through the induced habit of sleeping in cat pans.
Problem solved.
((8^D))
*(in rats)
I love cats, but I would be the last person to do skidiving or try to hit on a girl in a nightclub. So liking cats doesn't automatically mean risktaking behaviour. (I am also afraid of all predators that are dangerous/big enough to harm me)
Loving a cat will usually make the cat really mad at you. It could scratch or bite. Also, you could go to jail. In many places it is illegal to love a cat.
So, maybe it isn't the parasite? Maybe being a cat owner is more directly associated with mental illness?
Makes sense.
s/skidiving/skydiving
At last, I finally have a rational account for how Bush and Tony Blair got reelected.
An interesting post modded as a troll or flamebait on Slashdot? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. It seems more like a case of sour grapes to me. Transporter
I'm going to be wearing a hockey mask when I go off on everyone...
void
That is not why Bush hears voices in his head. He hears voices in the same maner that people hear the ocean in sea shells.
Fight Spammers!
These are just the Gou'ald scouts. We have about 3.5 years before the main invasion.
pic
slurm wallpaper
The Admin and the Engineer
Must... not... press.... submit....
Sooo, how soon before we learn to control this with our minds and then call it 'a mental force of some sort' ? ;-)
If a person is infected with a parasite that doesn't make him legally insane but does make him much more likely to engage in criminal activity, should the law cut him a break if he agrees to be cured?
Should the law MANDATE that he be cured as a condition of release?
What if, instead of a parasite, it's something genetic, like an as-for-now-hypothetical "amorality gene?" Should the law give such a person a break if they agree to medical intervention? Should the law require it as a condition of release?
Don't laugh, drug-based social engineering has been tried repeatedly over the last hundred years. If you count castration aka-testosterone-modification-therapy of the mentally ill and so-called deviants, then for millenia.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I was wondering why I had a suicidal attraction to cat urine!
First mention.
I am sure I watched a BBC documentary on this about 7 years ago. They even mentioned about car insurance ties to this being valid, as it makes you take risks.
ffs, I am so annoyed at finding repeat news as 'news'.
In other news: Bread is now available in sheets, or as some cutting edge people are calling them, slices.
please type the word in this image: straps random letters - if you are visually impaired, please email us at pater@slashdot.org
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
Fuck yahoo. Here is a link trail back through time:
1 2/0738233i ndcontrolbyparasitese turn_of_the_puppet_masters.phpm = Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9487962&dopt=Abstract //ghey
yyyy.mm.dd url
2006.xx.xx Who knows where this will be gay-linked next
2006.02.12 http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/
2006.02.11 http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060211/sc_space/m
2006.01.17 http://loom.corante.com/archives/2006/01/17/the_r
2003.11.?? http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no11/03-0143.ht
1997.11.?? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd
1896.??.?? Is insanity due to a microbe? [editorial] Sci Am 1896
1066.10.14 Reported scuffle broke out due to some tosspot road builders being toxoplamarised.
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
[Insert comment which replies directly to the article and not to the post, replying to the first high-modded post only because it gives higher visibility, thus higher chances of up-modding.]
[Possible comment: in South Korea, only old people have mind control parasites]
I remember sigs. Oh, a simpler time!
The Toxoplasma are our friends. They only need a safe warm home to... HELP!!!! [NO CARRIER]
So what affect does it have on humans?
Wow, guys, this is no joke... It already had an effect on the poster.
I doubt that this is real--hmmm...that's strange. I suddenly have an urge to go kill some people...
Tell you what, you go life a pure life in a cave and I'll make use of medical technology, we'll see who lives longer.
Wait - being infected causes inreased dopamine levels?!?!?1
GIMME!!!!!
This space available.
You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion. Later as they grow follows madness and death.
These are pets, of course. Not quite domesticated
No, no. SKI-diving. It's like water-skiing, only you point the tips of the skis downwards and get dragged under the water.
I am anarch of all I survey.
>as Joanne Webster points out in a fascinating review article on the subject , humans are rarely preyed upon by cats.
Not since we got to the top of the food chain, but until then the big cats hunted our ancestors. Man-eating tigers are rare because of some evolutionarily recent developments, like humans inventing guns and tigers going to endangered species status.
... every time I hear their music I get the urge to commit self-destructive behavior.
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
Your cat does'nt have an 'independent spirit', it's just full.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
I have to agree with you r00t. Cats are filthy animals which can endanger the health of loved ones. Sometimes, you have to make a choice and choose your human family members over pets. I personally cannot stand cats.
I cannot fathom how some people can place pets ahead of their own or other people's safety/health.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
Some of you people might not agree with everything he says but it is not fair to mod it as flamebait. We are living unhealthy lifestyles.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
Uh, that got modded interesting? Do you have cDc Ninja Strike Forcers following you and modding you up? ;)
I can't obsess over my cat, she would eventually tire of batting me around and lose me under the refrigerator.
The latest Slashdot meme.
This is coming from soneone who knows firsthand.
When I was 2 or so, I caught an infection of toxoplasma in my eyes. I guess I was playing in a sandbox where a cat had crapped, ended up wiping my eyes, etc.
Long story short, scarring formed on both of my retinas. I only have peripheral vision in my left eye--quite legally blind on that side. I can make out the "Big E" in the optometrist's office, that's about it. I have some scarring in my right eye too, which is pretty scary. Luckily it formed outside of the region where the retina is most sensitive, where the optic nerves hook up. But it did kill enough of the receptors that the brain needs such that I'm permanently very near-sighted. Even with eyeglasses, best I can get is 20:40. Another third worse (20:60) and I wouldn't be able to drive.
Ok, that was kinda long story long. Point is--I pay for the extra long-term disability insurance at work, and I'm gonna be first in the damn line for voluntary eye replacement surgey. I might hold out for the Terminator-style HUD, though.
And the other point--keep your kids (and pregnant women) from kitty litter. Put covers over your sandbox. Stay away from this bug, it's not fun.
There may be a decline of religion in a few countries in western Europe but looking worldwide, atheism is on a sharp decline from it's already small numbers. The largest declines of atheism occurred after the fall of communism in Russia and eastern Europe.
No doubt I will be modded as flamebait for injecting "facts" into the discussion by the same people that modded you insightful.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
So what affect does it have on humans?
It's spelled "effect" when used in this context!
If my little kids wander into a cat's home (mountain lion cave?) and the cat kills them, I'm not going to feel that the cat did anything wrong.
You're not a cat, are you?
Great, it is time to lock up freaks to protect the rest of us. Not only can they go nuts and attack others, they can infect others. eradicate the unclean
Non-domesticated cats, like the bobcat and lion, don't meow. They mostly growl, roar, and hiss. Domesticated cat noises resemble human baby noises.
Domesticated cats are about the size of human babies. They have big round eyes.
So yes, cats really are evolved (designed, whatever) to control humans. Since baby-resemblance is the mechanism, it is understandable that women are more affected.
("Mental retardation" has been linked, and there's little doubt that you'll find more people with mental problems in dangerous professions than chance alone would suggest. However, that could also be because nobody else wants those kinds of jobs, and the safer jobs tend to also have very high entry requirements. Having said that, though, statistics can't tell you what is cause and what is effect in such cases. Both predate all written language.)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
I think maybe it isnt a good idea to cite mostly fiction to back up claims like this by way of example. It might be better to use *REAL* examples so as not to confuse me.
Am I supposed to believe this? Or is this a science fiction story?
I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
I've seen much of the same behaviour in small breed dog owners. I even saw a special on chickens where there was a lady who had a chicken for a pet that she fawned over in much the same manner. I think this is unrelated to toxiplasmosis and more related to strange attractions to animals of that size. Probably misdirected child-rearing behavior, but I'm an animal care professional, not a human psychologist. Human psychology does play a huge role in how pets are cared for, though. Most evidentally is in hoarders (crazy cat ladys living in filthy conditions with hundreds of cats) which has been linked to a form of obsessive compulsion disorder... the compulsion is to "rescue" the cats from whatever fate may befall them in the outside world, but the reality is they can not give them the basic care needed (or even give it to themselves.) One of the more common attributes is that these people will remember the smallest detail about the actual "rescue" (when they took the animal in) but will have practically no idea of the cat's personality quirks, medical needs, or many other things you would expect any pet owner or animal caretaker to know. Not all hoarders fall into this particular class, but the worst offenders generally do.
I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
.. the jedi mind control trick
Dogs seem to find cat feces an irresistable treat
Finally, an explanation of what exactly "Scooby Snacks" are. But...Shaggy and Scooby-Do are afraid of everything...now I'm confused...
Blank until
Pregnant women do NOT need to stay away from cats - they just need to stay away from the litter box.
Yeah well that's all just great, isn't it. I can tell you're not a parent. When it comes down to it, any normal parent would forsake a cat for the health (both physical and now it looks like mental, too) of their spouse and children. If the chance of infection from the cat was being around was only 1%, that is still too high. What if your family is that 1 in 100? You're going to feel like a pretty fucking big asshole for saying "oh, don't worry about the chances, let the cat stay". You could have prevented it, your righteous indignance gets in the way of doing what's right for your family, and they pay for it. The right choice is to not get a cat if you think you might get pregnant within its lifetime that you expect to care for it. Or, you could always give away your cat for a year to a friend or family.
Women getting pregnant - don't take chances with the future of your child - you are their parent protector! - get the cat out of the house!
After reading article, it's now obvious why some people like cats, those people must be infected with toxoplasmosa.
SCARY!
I had a bout of toxoplasmosis when I was 16 and I'm still alive ...... and lots of people think I'm a rat, especially those people who like to run mazes.
check it out, them parasites even have a website:
http://www.toxoplasma.de/
Cats are quite clean animals that are often very useful. Sure, you city people who force the cat to use a corner of your house as a latrine and let it lick out your bowl after you're done supper are kind of disgusting but that's not the cat's fault.
Just small breed? You need to take a closer look at some people and their (large) dogs/cats/birds/reptiles/pet rocks. I think some people just have some oddly misplaced nurturing instincts.
I think I left "cars" off that list....
Statement ::= Political | Religious | OS ;
it kind of reminds me when Fry from Futurama gets worms and it enhances just about everything in his body..
*plays the Apogee theme song music*
This is striking. That's the same percentage that voted for this administration. Infection rates are dropping and so are his approval ratings? Then they decide to boost support they drop health care for the poor?! OMG now it makes sense! It IS an infection! We need a national campaign to get their minds back. We have 50 million lost souls.
No worries, mate. I appreciate the chance to have a discussion I understand (a lot of the articles here go right over my head). I also appreciate the lack of flames...
Some of the discussions here are mature and informative, and others...well you've been around here longer than I have
Using plain ol' text since 1968
I have a co-worker who did the opposite number. He had a girlfriend whose cat tended to leave "gifts" on the carpet. One day he molded a Tootsie-Roll into the approximate shape of a piece of cat feces and dropped it on the carpet while they were there. He pointed it out to her and then stated something along the lines of, "Well, waste not, want not" and picked it up and ate it. They didn't date for much longer after that...
Of course, this is the same co-worker who, in college, would call up the sorority houses with a message along the lines of "This is Doctor Smith from the Health Office. I have some bad news for you. The test came up positive for VD. Please call me immediately."
This sig has absolutely no significance and serves only to take up screen space and waste the time of the reader.
Here's some pictures of sick people eating from the litter box, even worse, they fed some to a little kid.
This must be what caused the little Japanese girl at the zoo to wear the baby seal outfit to the polar bear exhibit. Fortunately the polar bear only jumped and howled on the glass. Causing the young lady to shriek and fall backwards in panic but no flesh eaten.
Even before this was posted on /. the wikipedia article included a mention of speculation about the effects on human brains, and the 50% figure.
Wikipedia page as of 01:02, 10 February 2006
From that page:
"Given the close biological similarities between mice and humans, it has been suggested that human behaviour could also be affected in some way, and some epidemiological links may have been found between latent toxoplasmosis infections and car crashes, slower reactions, an increase in risk-taking behaviors, and schizophrenia"
"It is estimated that up to 50% of all people worldwide are infected with Toxoplasma gondii."
Maybe that was posted AC to avoid repercussions of misusing one of our favorite sources of information.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
The concept of the "crazy cat lady." Perhaps somebody with a form of mental disorder (aka the crazy part) caused by this parasite would also have an usual attraction to cats (the "cat lady") part.
Of course, men would be succeptible too...
...brain are belong to us.
Try to hold the mental though related to ordering a perscription to pyrimethamine, now in 10 minutes, try to wonder why you failed to make the doctors appointment!
I for one will test my affinity for Cat urine immediately.
Unless I loose the mental thought process again!
wonders off aimlessly wonding about what ever I was thinking about.
How the heck did I get into this window? Slash dot is for nerds wth am I posting. snip...
If you have that attitude and are truly that paranoid, then if there is a decent chance of there being a pregnant woman in your household in the next 10-15 years, DON'T GET A FUCKING CAT IN THE FIRST PLACE. Is that so hard? There are many other pets to choose from.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
What if it's 0.028%? Because that's about what it is. Less than one thirtieth of a percent. I think you can find better things to protect your family from.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
...Republicans!!!
...Democrats!!!
...Libertarians!!!
I guess that's why they flipped the wrong lever in both 2000 and 2004. Their vote ensures that we will enter WW III and vast amounts of the human population will perish in order for there to be meat for the Republican party masters, the Greys on which to feast.
I guess that's why they flipped the wrong lever in both 2000 and 2004. Their votes, if they had won would have ensured that the "terrorists" would have won and the U.S. and it's allies would be rained down upon with flames by the insane terrorists. This would have provided vast amounts of meat for the Democrat party masters, the Greys on which to feast.
I guess that's why they flipped the wrong lever in both 2000 and 2004. Their votes no matter who won would have assured either of the two scenarios above, or would have given us Libertarian rule which would have gutted everything that the government provides with the exception of a few "hot dogs" who think they know how to fight an alien invasion force with an Ice Cream truck and a a "dirty bomb". After the Greys picked off our Libertarian heroes in a half an hour, we'd be at their mercy and ready to be turned into meat on which to feast.
Next U.S. election, vote sane folks. Remember your vote costs lives.
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
My assertation still stands (that you are obviously not a parent), and you're still an ass (and popular opinion seems to agree with me).
Do you have a reference to back up your made-up number? Further, even if it is 0.0001% (one in a million), it is not up to you to judge what people find an acceptable risk for their families. Go put your own children at risk, knob. Oh, right, you don't have any and are just speaking out of your ass.
I was referring to the song by Ted Nugent, not the disease.
Child Onset Schizophrenia is the culmination of .
1. being born with bits-of-brain missing, and
2. having one's brain-structure different thereby, and
3. having one's braincell structure different ( different kind of alpha-7 nicotinic-receptors, wrong number of dopamine receptors, something profoundly monkeyed with the glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor, and probably with the glial cells theirselves, etc. ), and
4. having a significant portion of one's brain ( 1/10th?. . . starting in parietal-tissue ) slaughtered ( programmed-cell-death ) off, taking about 5 years ( in one's teens ), and doing greater ( visual centres ) or lesser amounts of decimation, then. .
What happens when someone who is already experiencing this, gets their central nervous-system distorted by LSD or equiv?
Catastrophic failure to deal-with reality? Failure to balance? Slaughter of some bystander because they were rigged and could not stand against the combined-force of their inherent-defectiveness and the drugs?
There's a difference between pushing against the side of a solidly centered/balanced boat, and pushing-against a lopsided, explosive-laden, misconfigured boat, eh?
IPTables enhancement Fail2Ban bans cracker-login's
I suggest tropical fish, large tortises (on the kitchen floor, near where the refrigerator gives off heat), and caged things. For caged things I suggest gerbils, rats, and iguanas. (note: iguanas are 3 feet long) A medium-small dog might be OK.
Cat may be quite useful but they are hardly the cleanest of animals from a biological perspective. While they may groom themselves quite effectively, they do tend to prey on vermin and other carriers of disease. Now this might be useful in that they help to reduce the population of those carriers of disease but house pets can expose humans to the very diseases carried by their prey.
When I was growing up in the country, we had outside cats and dogs. All animals belong outside and I would argue that keeping pets in the city is a form of animal cruelty.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
A cat or dog that comes indoors sometimes isn't bad... I wouldn't sleep with it, or eat out of it's bowl (or let it eat out of mine!). Mom was always very adamant that the dog and cat were not to lick our faces too. Now in the city I watch the neighbors cats who would LOVE to come outside and chase things... but they can't. Same with dogs, especially big ones, who get walked maybe once a day and spend the rest inside waiting for their owners to come home.
I doubt cats and dogs are worse for your health then children are though.
I wonder if perhaps cats are responsible for civilization. Much of the way our culture is formed was based on the actions of people who were basically nuts, from their culture's point of view.
It doesn't matter that these individuals, "may have been prone to bad trips?" LSD causes mental illness?
Don't try to blame away.
Don't anyone take this guys opinion as fact, not when you're dealing with your body. Better safe than sorry.
Zergs DO exist!
When fiction hits reality, dreams have no air-bag.
And this question has probably been adressed before, but how exactly do such parasites know to induce such behaviour in their hosts? How exactly are they aware that clinging to a stalk of grass increases the likelihood of the host (ant) being eaten by a grazer? Has there been much research into that?
A Sudanese man has been forced to take a goat as his "wife", after he was caught having sex with the animal.
The goat's owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders.
They ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.
"We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together," Mr Alifi said.
Mr Alifi, Hai Malakal in Upper Nile State, told the Juba Post newspaper that he heard a loud noise around midnight on 13 February and immediately rushed outside to find Mr Tombe with his goat.
"When I asked him: 'What are you doing there?', he fell off the back of the goat, so I captured and tied him up".
Mr Alifi then called elders to decide how to deal with the case.
"They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife," Mr Alifi told the newspaper.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.