Can a cat-poo parasite turn you into a millionaire? | Life and style



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Name: Toxoplasma gondii.

Location: Throughout the place.

Appearance: Very small. Only one cell, actually. You would need a microscope to see it.

A w, it's cute! Uh, yeah. Type of. Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that spreads in the feces of cats to other mammals, including humans.

Less cute. What is he doing? Usually nothing. Indeed, it is extremely common. Worldwide, about two billion people have contracted toxoplasmosis, the disease caused by toxoplasma gondii, but in most cases they feel nothing and are subsequently immunized.

It looks like my kind of disease. Yes, although it can make babies and people with weakened immune systems very sick. You can remember that Tommy in Trainspotting died of toxoplasmosis contracted by his kitten.

Yeesh. Moreover, he could secretly rule the world.

Eh? A research just published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Journal found that students who had been infected with toxoplasmosis were 40% more likely to do business at the university, and 70% more likely to emphasize "management and entrepreneurship" in their business studies.

Wowzer. Moreover, at an entrepreneurship event for professionals, infected people were 80% more likely to have started a business.

Are you serious about this? I am. The effect could even be measured at the national level. "Countries with higher infection also had a lower fraction of respondents citing the" fear of failure "in inhibiting new business ventures, say the researchers.

So, capitalism is a disease! I knew it! These people, and humanity in general, could have benefited from toxoplasmosis.

Because eating poop makes you a little lazy? Maybe.

It seems slightly … far-fetched. I know, but that's not the case. Toxoplasmosis gondii is already highly valued by evolutionary biologists because of the way it spreads intelligently.

What's smart about being pooped by a cat? Not much. The smart part comes next. Mice that pick up the soil parasite develop one of the strangest symptoms in the world.

Which is? They lose their fear of cats.

No way! As a result, they wander briskly around these giant predators – and get eaten, thus making toxoplasma gondii in the intestines of a cat, where it can reproduce.

It's unbelievable. The theory is that toxoplasmosis could also affect human behavior.

Well, I guess we like to hang out with cats. That's right. But there may be other things.

Like what? Previous research suggests a link with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Toxoplasmosis could also make men less sociable, and women even more so

Say: "Welcome to Dragons' Den or as we now know, Toxoplasmosis Clinic."

Do not Say: "Should We Call It Catipalism Now?"

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