Parasites influence your behavior

The guardian is reporting on a parasite carried by cats that can influence human behavior. "Infected men were more likely to be aggressive, jealous and suspicious, while women became more outgoing and showed signs of higher intelligence." Despite the benefit of higher intelligence woman shouldn't start licking cats as the toxoplasma gondii parasite can cause abortion and birth defects. [via Slashdot]

T. Gondii affects humans as a product of its reproductive cycle. The parasite can only sexually reproduce in cats, and it uses mice to move between them. The parasite enters the mouse's brain and makes it less fearful of cats, though it doesn’t appear to make it more suspicious of other mice.

Other mind-altering parasites:
Nematomorph hairworm (Spinochordodes tellinii) forces infected grasshoppers to drown in water where the parasite emerges to complete its lifecycle.

Lancet fluke (Dicrocoelium lanceolatum) causes ants to climb plant stems and attach to exposed positions, where they are eaten with the leaves by grazing animals.

Leucochloridium paradoxum creates a protruding stalk from a snail that looks like a worm, it then forces the snail to move to exposed leaves in a tree, where the stalk undulates green and yellow to attract birds.

We must now go to the brain slug planet and walk around not wearing helmets.