A disease-giving, brain-altering parasite spread by cats has recently been proven to make people more attractive. This is a breakthrough discovery that shows that this type of parasite can not only affect cognitive function but physically alter one's traits as well.
While this sounds pretty cool, and is rather fascinating when it comes to the power of parasites, that doesn't mean you should go out and contract it. Parasites are still dangerous, people.
Recently published in the Brain, Cognition and Mental Health journal was a study that examined a parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii. It's a parasite spread by cats that can infect humans as well, causing a disease called toxoplasmosis.
Toxoplasma gondii, once fully established in its host human, can be spread through sexual transmission. How does it encourage this? By, somehow, making its host more attractive to others. At least, that's what the study discovered.
Or, the actual physical traits of the person infected.
To determine this, the team took a sample of 35 people infected with Toxoplasma gondii and 178 who weren't. They then had a separate group rate the various people based on their attractiveness.
After measuring both the participant ratings and taking metrics they believed could affect the person's attractiveness such as face symmetry, those infected with Toxoplasma gondii were considered not only more attractive, but healthier too.
Namely studies done with rats, which has similar results. This suggests that the parasite is able to directly change the physical characteristics of a person (or rat) to make them more attractive to others, thus increasing their chances of being sexually transmitted.
The researchers are pretty excited about the results, writing, "Taken together, these results lay the foundation for future research on the manipulation of the human host by sexually transmitted pathogens and parasites."
While toxoplasmosis can have minimal or even no symptoms, it can also be deadly, especially to immunocompromised people out there.
Please don't try to contract a parasite to become more attractive. There are other ways that don't involve the risk of death, promise.
h/t: IFL Science
