Opa, entendi, to saindo…
A INDIRETA ATRAVESSOU O MONITOR E DEU UM TAPA NA MINHA CARA.
(Source: quaseromeu)
Mind-Control Parasite Makes Fear Sexy
by Stephanie Pappas
When the bizarre parasite Toxoplasma gondii infects rats, it turns the rodents fearless, reducing their natural aversion to the odor of cat urine. But despite this bravery, infected rats remain terrified of other scary stimuli.
Now, a new study hints at how T. gondii, or “toxo,” makes this strangely specific fearlessness happen: In infected rats, the smell of cat urine activates sexual attraction pathways in the brain, spurring the animals to approach the odor rather than run away. Although T. gondii can infect many mammals, including humans, this rodent mind control is likely an adaption by the parasite to ensure it gets into the intestines of a cat, the only place it can reproduce sexually.
About 30 percent of people worldwide are infected with T. gondii, mostly through eating undercooked meat or contact with cat feces. In healthy humans, the parasite doesn’t cause symptoms, though pregnant women are advised to stay away from cat litter boxes, because T. gondii can cross the placenta and kill a developing fetus…
(read more: Live Science) (photo: unattributed)
