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POPSCat parasite in humans makes them like cat urine
Parasite "Brainwashes" Rats Into Craving Cat Urine, Study FindsBen Harder for National Geographic News April 3, 2007 The parasite Toxoplasma gondii uses a remarkable trick to spread from rodents to cats: It alters the brains of infected rats and mice so that they become attracted to—rather than repelled by—the scent of their predators. A new study reveals that rodents infected with the parasitic protozoa are drawn to the smell of cat urine, apparently having lost their otherwise natural aversion to the scent. The parasite can only sexually reproduce in the feline gut, so it's advantageous for it to get from a rodent into a cat—if necessary, by helping the latter eat the former. In rodents, "brain circuits for many behaviors overlap with the brain circuits responsible for fear," said Ajai Vyas of Stanford University, who led the new study. "One would thus assume that if something messes up fear of cat pee, it will also mess up a variety of related behaviors." Bu
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POPSScientists find malaria's 'sticky' genes The understanding of the malaria parasite, which seems to behave in a similar way to a virus, can help the development of new treatment methods, both in the stage that causes the disease in humans, and the phase in which it is carried by the intermediate host, the Anopheles mosquito. Research is also continuing into the genes behind the immune system of the mosquito, which actively fights against the malaria parasite.
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POPSCan parasites influence the language we speak? "These costly interactions especially come from interacting with people who do not belong to your society or group, whose immune systems are adapted for a separate set of parasites than your own," adds Fincher. n the parasite-rich forest populations, interacting with others came with a high chance of contracting a lethal illness, making parasites an evolutionary driving force.
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POPSFetus in Fetu How is this possible? Bhagat had a bizarre and extremely rare condition called fetus in fetu. What happens is that when the twin feti are in the womb, one gets absorbed by, or trapped inside, the other. This happens very early in pregnancy. One twins grows normally while the trapped lives on as a parasite, leaching off its sibling’s blood supply
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POPSThe Detachable Penis Also read about Two-Headed Penises, Four-Headed Penises and Double Vaginas http://news.softpedia.com/news/Two-Headed-Penises-Four-Headed-Penises-and-Double-Vaginas-43001.shtml
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