Jaroslav Flegr the 63 year old Czech parasitologist and evolutionary biologist has discovered house cats may be carriers of organisms that are capable of entering the human brain resulting in personality disorders. Flegr in a recent article by Kathleen McAuliffe believes “The parasite, which is excreted by cats in their feces, is called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii or Toxo for short) and is the microbe that causes toxoplasmosis—the reason pregnant women are told to avoid cats’ litter boxes. …a woman who becomes infected during pregnancy can transmit the disease to the fetus, in some cases resulting in severe brain damage or death. T. gondii is also a major threat to people with weakened immunity…. Healthy children and adults, however, usually experience nothing worse than brief flu-like symptoms before quickly fighting off the protozoan, which thereafter lies dormant inside brain cells… if Flegr is right, the “latent” parasite may be quietly tweaking the connections between our neurons, changing our response to frightening situations, our trust in others, how outgoing we are, and even our preference for certain scents.”
Inspired by Kathleen McAuliffe http://ow.ly/96sIz image source photosubmission http://ow.ly/96rHO
