On the drive back yesterday, I listened to my backlog of podcasts. I finally caught up with Radiolab. The topic was parasites.
Seriously, couldn't stop it. Fascinating. Attaching the link to the part that got me.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2009/09/25/segments/133981
It was a discussion on Toxoplasma Gondii. I learnt in parasitology class in college about how pregnant women were not supposed to clean the cat box. That is because they could be infected by this parasite that is found in cat poop. It leads to miscarriages etc. Not so great stuff.
They go into how exacty toxo works. We humans are the wrong host for it. We are not part of its life cycle. It wants to actually be in rats/rodents. Something that a cat eats. The toxo just wants to get back into the cat and multiply.
When it is in the rat, it works its way into the rats brain and rewires the rat. It makes it so that the rat begins to love the smell of cat. The rat falls in love with the cat, making it so that the rat does not run away when the cat is nearby. Next thing you know, the rat becomes lunch and the toxo gets back into the cat.
Soooo, that has made people start to think. Has toxo rewired humans? Is there a reason that we love cats so much? Are crazy cat ladies really crazy or just infected?
For me, I'm not completely sure. I'm a third generation cat lover. At Thanksgiving, we discussed how everyone in the family has at least one cat. Are we all infected or is it just genetic? Either way, I'm all good with it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Ahhh, thank you so much. You've reminded me to catch up on the past few episodes I've downloaded, but not listened to.
I too am a cat lover, but only second generation. My grandparents were fans of canines and breeding them at that.
Anywhoo, I love cats and all of their glory! Toxo and all. Of course, I do my best not to go near the cat box. That is hubby's territory. Hehehe
Post a Comment