Imagine that you come across a radiantly beautiful person, someone who makes you almost cringe at the sight, with a charming face and beautiful stature. Then imagine that the same person’s head and body are swarming with parasites.
This scenario is not completely out of thin air. Attractive looks and yeast infections go hand in hand, according to a recent study conducted by an international team of scientists.
Scientists have long suspected that this microscopic parasite, carried by about a third of us, has a unique ability to manipulate its host.
If the latest research is anything to go by, this effect of the parasite is greater than previously thought because it not only changes the behavior of its victims, but it can also change their faces and bodies in such a way that the victims become more legitimate to look at.
A parasite lays eggs in cats
The protozoan parasite is a protozoan, i.e. a microscopic organism that lives in the intestines of other animals and is a parasite on them. The parasite reproduces in cats, but in addition to domestic cats, lions and leopards can also be mentioned in this regard. When the eggs reach the intestines, they are released from the animal in feces.
If a person or any animal has the misfortune to ingest water or food contaminated with cat feces, the parasite infects the unfortunate person’s body. The eggs then develop into mobile parasites that spread around the body and find their way into the muscles and brain.
Then the parasite can go into a kind of hibernation and wait for a cat to eat the host, with the result that it can multiply again.
However, the parasite does not wait idly in the meantime. Namely, various studies have revealed that the parasite gets its host to let a cat hunt it.
Infected entire bodies
One study from 2016 found that chimpanzees stop avoiding the urine odor of leopards when they become infected with an archaea. This increases the risk of the predator preying on that particular monkey.
The danger is greatly increased because the parasite also causes the host to become careless.
A slug gives the brain confidence
The brain is generally protected by blood-brain barriers, also known as the brain barrier or blood-brain barrier, but these barriers keep uninvited guests out. The arcuate cell gnaws at the body’s defenses and takes control of the brain.
An international study conducted in 2018 revealed, among other things, that bowworm caused those infected to engage in increasingly risky business. It was also found that infected young men preferred to pursue studies aimed at managerial and entrepreneurial jobs than those who were not infected.
In other words, the parasite’s attempts to spread have a significant impact on people’s lives. And now scientists have identified yet another subtle aspect of the parasite’s resourcefulness.
Infection makes us nicer
Bowworm can be transmitted between animals by lizards. Animals generally try to avoid mating with those infected by a parasite, but the archaea has developed a method to avoid this problem.
In one experiment conducted in 2018, researchers from several countries looked at physical and behavioral differences in a total of 35 infected and 178 uninfected participants.
30 to 50% of the world’s population is infected with ankylosing spondylitis.
The experiment showed that infected individuals had more symmetrical faces than those who were not infected, but such an appearance is generally considered attractive. Infected women also had a lower body mass index than non-infected women and considered themselves to be more attractive than otherwise.
Both infected women and infected men were generally considered to be more legal and healthy looking than the uninfected subjects in the experiment. This was the assessment of a judge consisting of 205 people from around the world.
The scientists behind the experiment believe that the link between attractive appearance and infection can be explained by the fact that the parasite can change people’s appearance.
However, it has not been possible to provide definitive proof of these connections. Skeptics, however, believe that the connection is simpler than that – namely that attractive people increase the risk of infection because they have sex more often than others.
However, both of these factors can apply, and the idea that parasites can affect the host’s body is not out of thin air.
A parasite controls your hormones
Arc tissue has a variety of effects on the body’s biology. Animal experiments have revealed that the parasite promotes increased production of the messengers serotonin and dopamine , both of which affect behavior.
Other experiments have shown that the parasite contributes to the increase of testosterone in the body. Testosterone affects, among other things, hair growth and muscle mass and can therefore affect how attractive people seem to us.
Does this mean that it is desirable to get infected with archaea?
Three microbes attack the brain
Bowworm is not the only parasite that attacks the brain. Here are three disgusting brain parasites that rob us of sleep, make us insane or eat our brains.
A brain eater that kills
Naegleria fowleri is a protozoan that feeds on the olfactory bulb in the front part of the brain. The victim feels discomfort and loses consciousness just a few hours later. The attack results in fever, hallucinations, impaired mental capacity, and then death after two to three weeks.
A virus causes insanity
Rabies, medically known as rabies, is caused by a virus that can also attack humans. The virus affects neurotransmitters in the brain centers that control memory, emotions and fear. Those who are infected usually die, but before that they suffer from anxiety, confusion and hallucinations.
The answer is not at all straightforward. Bogfrymill can be harmful to pregnant women, as well as people with a weakened immune system, but the parasite is generally considered to be quite harmless. However, the researchers behind the new study stress that our knowledge of arcuate tissue is limited.
They point to various effects that need to be looked at in more detail.
Among other things, scientists want to find out whether the parasite’s ability to encourage risky behavior can have a negative effect on the host’s ability to survive.
They also point out that changes in the amount of messengers or hormones can have the consequences that we develop serious ailments such as cardiovascular diseases or even schizophrenia.
It can also be mentioned that the parasite can change our attitude towards other people. Because it suits the parasite that we have sex with most of us, scientists believe that the arcus can make us think others are more attractive than they actually are.
When we spot an extremely legal woman or man who charms us out of our shoes, it is possible that there is a parasite at work in our brain.
