I never would have guessed this.....

[HotthenCold]

I just read about a parasite called "toxoplasma gondii" that can "take over" rats' minds, causing the rats to go near cats instead of running away. This is because the parasite can only breed in cats intestines and needs to be ingested via the rat.....
this level of planning and strategy by what I've always to believed to be a simple organism makes me very interested to know what level of consicousness some beings have that we are not aware of. It could just be the result of evolutionary processes that make it seem like the parasite has the power of thought, but still......

here's the article
The Return of the Puppet Masters. The Loom: A blog about life, past and future


Has anyone else heard of anything like this? It's a subject I'd definitely like to know more about.

p.s- the study mentions that approximately half of humans are infected with it, but it's easily countered by a healthy immune system.

 

[lallieth]

Has anyone else heard of anything like this? It's a subject I'd definitely like to know more about.

p.s- the study mentions that approximately half of humans are infected with it, but it's easily countered by a healthy immune system.

Yes I have heard of this,simply becaue when I was pregnant I was told by the OB not to change the cat litter due to the chance of developing "Toxoplasmosis" which can be transferred to the fetus via the mother.

It can cause encephalitis in developing fetus or even death.

Transmission may occur through:

Toxoplasmosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

* Ingestion of raw or partly cooked meat, especially pork, lamb, or venison containing Toxoplasma cysts. Infection prevalence in countries where undercooked meat is traditionally eaten, such as France, has been related to this transmission method. Oocysts may also be ingested during hand-to-mouth contact after handling undercooked meat, or from using knives, utensils, or cutting boards contaminated by raw meat.

* Ingestion of contaminated cat faeces. This can occur through hand-to-mouth contact following gardening, cleaning a cat's litter box, contact with children's sandpits, or touching anything that has come into contact with cat faeces.
* Drinking water contaminated with Toxoplasma.
* Transplacental infection in utero.