Jaroslav Flegr is no kook. And yet, for years, he suspected his mind had been taken over by parasites that had invaded his brain. So the prolific biologist took his science-fiction hunch into the lab.
Posted on 06/22/2012 2:56:31 AM PDT by Bon mots
Jaroslav Flegr is no kook. And yet, for years, he suspected his mind had been taken over by parasites that had invaded his brain. So the prolific biologist took his science-fiction hunch into the lab.
What he’s now discovering will startle you. Could tiny organisms carried by house cats be creeping into our brains, causing everything from car wrecks to schizophrenia?
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
lol
Bump for later reading
Good idea! Though, I’ve tried just that with my 2 cats, but they sniff it, smell the medicine, turn-up their noses, look at me - WTF! - and just walk away. Brats.
I don’t even want to know what’s in those bottles on the shelves behind him.
“Whatever you do, DON’T try to give one of them a pill!”
LOL.... I made the mistake of trying to give our big Tom Cat an injection while he was sitting on my lap.... ouch was an understatement! My leg was torn to shreds!
I learned, wrap them in a blanket or beach towel first. Their skin is the toughest thing I ever injected. Worse than any other animal I’ve given shots.
My veterinary friend jokes that the life expectancy of my farm cats goes to zero if the vet cost is more than $2. to keep them alive!
16. Clean and bandage slashed, bloody arms and face.
“The most common mode of transmission of toxoplasmosis is through consumption of undercooked meat.”
Now I know why the Chinese restaurant cuts their meat in little pieces and puts it in stir fries!
Seeing as how he is into the study of human parasites, they appear to be a collection of parasitic organisms. I think I can identify Guinea Worm and a TapeWorm.
Guinea Worm is a particularly nasty affliction... you drink infected water and the long, slimy white worms burst out of the skin on your leg and must be slowly extracted over days by winding them around a stick until they finally pop out.
PICTURES of Guinea Worm - NOT for the squeamish..."
Once a Guinea worm begins emerging, the first step is to do a controlled submersion of the affected area in a bucket of water. This causes the worm to discharge many of its larva, making it less infectious.
The water is then discarded on the ground far away from any water source. Submersion results in subjective relief of the burning sensation and makes subsequent extraction of the worm easier. To extract the worm, a person must wrap the live worm around a piece of gauze or a stick. The process can be long, taking anywhere from hours to months. Gently massaging the area around the blister can help loosen the worm up a bit.
This is nearly the same treatment that is noted in the famous ancient Egyptian medical text, the Ebers papyrus from 1550 BC. Some people have said that extracting a Guinea worm feels like the afflicted area is on fire. However, if the infection is identified before an ulcer forms, the worm can also be surgically removed by a trained doctor in a medical facility.
Now I understand cat people. It all makes sense now.
LOL; I’m going to add that to #11. Thanks.
OMG, where do those worms live, so I NEVER go there? (I’m not clicking on that link!)
Africa.
Particularly, Nigeria.
I saw them in Cameroon.
If you see someone with a shiny spot on their skin - usually on their leg or foot - that means that they previously had a guinea worm infection. I saw a lot of that in Central Africa some years ago.
Central Africa also has botflies, which lay their eggs under your skin and they too come out of your skin like that. My friend who joined me had two botflies growing under the skin in his arm and had to have the surgically removed by his doctor back home in Europe.
Another nasty worm is "Loa Loa". You can look it up, but it will live in your eye and is also a disgusting slimy white critter.
Why is genius inversely proportional to grooming?
Yet one more reason to hate cats.
I think he’s Dr Emmett Brown’s long lost brother.
I believe it! I found an abandoned kitten three weeks ago. Fed her with an eye dropper, now she is getting me well trained to her beck and call.
OMG! SHE IS LOOKING AT ME RIGHT NOW!
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