Parasite turns women into sex kittens
Any recently pregnant woman with a cat has given some thought to toxoplasmosis, a disease that can cause birth defects in fetuses. A new study performed by the Stanley Research Medical Institute of Maryland has shown that toxoplasmosis in the human brain can also cause changes in behavior. Infected men have been found to be more aggressive and antisocial. Women, on the other hand, have "sex kitten" attributes including increased desirability and promiscuity. In addition to personality changes, both sexes infected with the parasite are more susceptible to schizophrenia and manic depression.
Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that can be spread through cat feces as well as undercooked meats. Nearly 80% - 90% of people in France and Germany are infected which is twice the amount as the United States. This study is ripe for French maid jokes but I'll allow you to make your own.
[via: Disease Ecology]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-24-2008 @ 11:11PM
JohnSearle said...
Just out of curiosity, how does hit relate to the theme of this blog? Not that I mind...
Anyway... Just a little addition to what was given--
From Wikipedia.org:
The evidence for behavioral effects on humans is relatively weak. There have been no randomized clinical trials studying the effects of toxoplasma on human behavior. Although some researchers have found potentially important associations with toxoplasma, it is possible that these associations merely reflect factors that predispose certain types of people to infection (e.g., people who exhibit risk-taking behaviors may be more likely to take the risk of eating undercooked meat).
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2-24-2008 @ 11:15PM
kelly.leahy said...
One of the themes of this blog is ecology and parasites fall under that. I may have taken some liberties however, you could say that if one followed a vegan diet and their cat did the same, the chances of turning into a toxoplasmosis sex kitten would be greatly reduced.
2-26-2008 @ 5:58PM
Kel said...
Of course, we all know no responsible pet owner would commit animal abuse by forcing an obligate carnivore into a vegan diet, so vegan owners, while reducing their risk directly, must still take proper precautions while cleaning the kittybox.