Posted on 06/08/2010 6:07:57 AM PDT by Daffynition
Kevin Lafferty is a smart, cautious, thoughtful scientist who doesn't hate cats, but he has put forth a provocative theory that suggests that a clever cat parasite may alter human cultures on a massive scale.
His phone hasn't stopped ringing since he published one of the strangest research papers to come out of the mill in quite awhile.
The parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, has been transmitted indirectly from cats to roughly half the people on the planet, and it has been shown to affect human personalities in different ways.
Research has shown that women who are infected with the parasite tend to be warm, outgoing and attentive to others, while infected men tend to be less intelligent and probably a bit boring. But both men and women who are infected are more prone to feeling guilty and insecure.
Other researchers have linked the parasite to schizophrenia. In an adult, the symptoms are like a mild form of flu, but it can be much more serious in an infant or fetus. Oxford University researchers believe high levels of the parasite leads to hyperactivity and lower IQs in children.
Lafferty, who is a parasite ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the University of California at Santa Barbara, is an expert on the role parasites play in the ecology of other animals.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
No, I think you've got that wrong, seems that P****turns some men into idiots and others into crashing bores. My wife clams to have seen this with her own eyes.
“3)Lower rule-consciousness and greater jealousy (in men)[30]
4)Promiscuity and greater conscientiousness (in women)[30]”
DEMOCRATS DISEASE ?
SOCIALIST SYNDROME ?
Oh come now, was the joke not that obvious? Clearly the Toxo has gotten to your head....
BTW, I am a cat lover and have been around cats for nearly all my life... that said, who knows, maybe I am a p*ssy too, then again, I am a married man so....
Maybe its the cats themselves that are the parasites. Dogs have masters..cats have servants. Three cats in my house so I know first hand.
Explains why there are so many liberals these days.
Pregnant women are especially on alert because they can transmit the infection to their unborn child, and a congenital toxoplasmosis infection in utero can lead to miscarriage or an array of malformations at birth.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/toxoplasmosis.html
Reducing your risk
Even though it is unlikely that a woman will contract toxoplasmosis from her cat, it’s a good idea to err on the side of caution. The following recommendations will help cat owners expecting a child to reduce their risk of contracting toxoplasmosis.
* Avoid undercooked meat.
* Wash all uncooked vegetables thoroughly.
* Wash all cutting boards and utensils that might have come in contact with meat before using them.
* Wear gloves when working in soil. If gloves are not worn, hands need to be washed thoroughly afterward.
* Ask a spouse, friend or neighbor to help out with litter box duties while you’re pregnant.
* If you don’t have help to keep the litter box clean, wear rubber gloves when changing the litter and thoroughly wash your hands afterward.
* Have your cat’s litter changed on a daily basis.
*Teach your cat not to walk on the kitchen counter after taking a dump in said litter box
bump 4 l8r
This is the one that makes men want to sit at home and drink beer, and watch TV, and makes women want to dress up and go shopping?
LOL! Could be.
This is why you don’t change the litter box when pregnant. It can also be found in undercooked meat and raw milk, cats aren’t the only source.
Damn! Now I have to cut back on my cat consumption.
““Take my wife,.....Please!””
If you don’t want her, what makes you think anyone else would?
The ancient Egyptians worshiped cats as gods. Maybe the parasites those cats carried brought down that empire.
CDC Reports Prevalence Of Worms Transmitted By Dogs And Cats To Humans Is Higher Than Previously Understood
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/87767.php
About 14 percent of the U.S. population is infected with Toxocara, or internal roundworms, contracted from dogs and cats. That’s according to the results of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study announced at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Philadelphia.
It is crap like this that brings science into disrepute. Mumbo jumbo!!
You win! Post of the day!
that segue was my first thought as well
it always goes back to the power of Poo and Nanny over we mere mortals
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