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Mind Control Parasites in Half of All Humans

Posted by Zonk on from the it's-in-me-mind! dept.

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."

3 of 625 comments (clear)

  1. And the other half? by satcomdaddy1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Insert Political/religious/OS statement here.

    Really should be more insightful than funny, but that's not for me to decide.

  2. Re:Wowa, by 1u3hr · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It seems to be strong evidence that parasites can control the behavior of a host in fairly complex ways

    "Influence" rather than "control". TFA originates in a site that looks for SF in the news, sometimes they look rather too hard. But consider how you act when you have a cold -- sneezing, for instance, creating a nice aerosol spray to spread the virus. Many skin infections casue itchiness, making you scratch and distribute flakes, containing spores; etc. (If this is Intelligent Design, I'd like to ask who is the Chosen Race -- us or the parasites?)

  3. Re:This could not be news by BarryNorton · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Does this explain why religion is on the decline?
    That, and storing our grain better...