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Cats Not Linked To Brain Cancer After All
sciencehabit writes with good news for cat owners everywhere. From the article: "Last year, cat owners got a scare when a team of French researchers reported a possible link between felines and brain cancer. Cat feces can harbor a single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, and the scientists found that nations with higher rates of human T. gondii infection also have higher incidences of brain cancer. A new study challenges those findings [paywalled after the first view]. Scientists examining a cohort of more than 600,000 British women found that cat owners were no more likely to develop brain cancer than their cat-free counterparts, despite their presumably greater risk of exposure to T. gondii."
The study in question mostly just found that T. gondii infection rates aren't correlated with cat ownership after all, but there's still no word on whether our friend the parasite causes cancer or not.
There might be *other* things in those nations which cause brain cancer, eg. a national addiction to eating garlic sausages in vinegar. Or something.
No sig today...
They are correlated to finding poop in boxes in your home.
A cat infected with toxoplasma gondii will excrete the parasite in the feces for some days (weeks) after first infection, and then will stop doing it forever.
Most toxoplasmosis infectiosn in humans are due to consuming uncooked meat or poorly washed vegetables.
Half of the world's human population carry a Toxoplasma infection. So better choose your bridge jump off point.
I'm still having my regular scheduled Cat Scans ....
Then I'd suggest the headline should be Cats May Not Be Linked To Brain Cancer After All. For where the cats go, so goes toxoplasma and we should know well enough, unless we're Reader's Digest or Prevention magazine, not to jump to a conclusion that the study did not demonstrate.
I happened to be looking at this yesterday after hearing an NPR story. It turns out that T. gondii is actually a mind-altering parasite. It reproduces in the guts of rodents, and then in order to get back into its preferred cat hosts, has actually evolved to alter the brains of rodents to make them find the odor of cats sexually appealing. Yes, you heard that right.
It puts a whole new spin on all those Tom & Jerry cartoons, now doesn't it?
Of course your next question is if it does something similar to infected humans. Supposedly, it has been shown to cause a statistically significant increase in car accidents among the infected. Perhaps that study will be countered too though.
Do you mean to tell me I killed Fluffy for nothing???
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
Wait, you mean I CAN'T haz brain cancer??
Glad that's out of the way; though toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia don't seem too appealing either.
I may be blind to the more profound, esoteric aspects of the cat, but I do marvel at what high prices some will pay for a haughty ball of animated fur.
My suggestions to curb this perilous market are as follows, but first and foremost, it could become unlawful to possess an unshaven cat. This would discourage the majority of prospective cat ownership, as no healthy person wants a five pound worm with claws and fangs.
Exchanges, or replacement-cats would be comprised of internal motors, synthetic fur shells with a stuffable, washable center into which they could be figuratively "fed", and an exit module by which they could also be un-fed.
Some form of appropriately colored reusable putty would be included in the exchange. This putty would serve two purposes:
1.) To supplement food, thus saving money and resources and one's nose.
2.) To be placed into a litter-box for a genuine looking effect.
For the lower-maintenance, upgrade model, a wireless link would be installed. Through a very cute web interface, owners could enter credit-card numbers and refill codes to control the figurative health of the cat. It would bloat or compress upon signals received in accordance with funds transferred or not transferred. The cat would in extreme situations of over or underfunding, either gently explode or implode, but show only trivial, charming contractions under normal circumstances. There would of course, be settings, such as adjustable mewing, retractable thorns to cut one's self on or destroy furniture with, etc.
Those are my suggestions.
Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
The original story was written by a dog.
I get all my science reporting from Mozzie on "White Collar".