
Sinister parasites that control their hosts' minds - option_greek
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150316-ten-parasites-that-control-minds
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ethn
The article isn't true. It was once thought that cordyceps and other parasites
control the mind of their hosts but something much more sinister happens; the
invaders take control of the nervous system of the creature moving the limbs
against the will of the host.

Intuitively, minds are so idiosyncratic that it would be very difficult to
generalize a behavior like this.

Citation: [https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/how-
the-...](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/how-the-zombie-
fungus-takes-over-ants-bodies-to-control-their-minds/545864/)

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stevenwoo
That was quite a panoply of different species and cross phylum? parasites. A
couple of wasp parasites were mentioned - recently a paper was published
speculating that there are more wasp species than any other because almost
every insect they studied has a separate wasp parasite for both the adult form
and juvenile form. It's just that some of them are so small they didn't know
to look for them.
[https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/parasiti...](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/parasitic-
wasps-dominate-the-animal-kingdom/557348/)

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jbigelow76
I made it down to the Castrator Barnacle description and thought "you know
what, that's enough of this article for today".

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bllguo
it actually got better for me later on. The first half was horrifying. But at
the emerald cockroach wasp and onwards I wasn't as repulsed, as cockroaches
are disgusting, and the rest - toxoplasmosis, rabies, influenza - aren't easy
to visualize.

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ratsimihah
Yea the crab was ugly!

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ada1981
I was expecting this to be a Harvard Business Review case study but it turned
out it's about biology.

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charlieflowers
As a human, what kind of evidence would you look for to determine if you're
under the influence of a parasite?

Could eating disorders, anxiety, and other mental conditons sometimes be at
least partly contributed to by parasites controlling the host?

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mabbo
Something like half the human population is infected with T gondii. Given how
often my cat licks me, I know I must by now.

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Alex3917
Although Cordyceps is often portrayed as a thing that's only found in tropical
rainforests or the highlands of Tibet, this isn't actually accurate. You can
find it relatively easily in NYC parks.

The ones here aren't medicinal though, nor do they make for super dramatic
YouTube videos, so most people don't know they exist.

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option_greek
For those adventurous souls who finished this article, here is a bonus one:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid_wasp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid_wasp)

PS: Make sure you are not eating anything before you go through this one :)

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Pica_soO
Very interesting article. Being taken over is the ultimate body horror.
Several games have explored the concept so far- mostly by having "zombiefied"
versions as opponents.

It would be interesting to have this concept in a game where you as a AI
hijack humans with apps, to act against there own interests.

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_agdistis
Not quite the same, but that game Plague Inc. has a "neurax worm" that does
the whole taking over people's mind. It's pretty neat.

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christefano
Fascinating article. I was glad to see toxoplasmosis mentioned since when it
comes to humans I think it’s relegated to being “a cat thing” and solely
viewed as something only pregnant women need to worry about it.

I read an article years ago about how there’s a high incidence of toxo in
motorcyclists who ended up in the hospital ERs (and had blood tests detecting
toxo), which suggests how in humans toxo correlates with reckless behavior and
wanting to go fast.

Relevant excerpts and links:

“Between 30 and 60% of people are infected by T. gondii. But it's less clear
that the parasite affects human behaviour. In 2006 Kevin Lafferty of the US
Geological Survey in Santa Barbara, California found some evidence of
personality changes in people infected by the parasite. So far this is only a
correlation, which is far from conclusive. Nevertheless, Lafferty says: "my
money is on cause and effect".

[http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3641](http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3641)

“Toxoplasmosis is also unusually common in people with schizophrenia, but
again it's not clear what that means or how significant it is. ‘Schizophrenia
is a complicated syndrome, perhaps with multiple causes,’ says Lafferty. He
adds that there are plenty of infected people that don't have schizophrenia,
and plenty of people with schizophrenia who aren't infected. ‘Still, I am
comfortable in saying that Toxoplasma is a correlated risk factor for
schizophrenia.’”

[http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/%E2%80%8Bjeb.073635](http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/%E2%80%8Bjeb.073635)

Now what I didn’t know about and am utterly fascinated by is how influenza
affects infected human hosts. Holy shit! Including here for those who skipped
or just skimmed the article:

“ … people given a flu vaccine interacted with significantly more people, and
in significantly larger groups, in the 48 hours after being exposed, compared
with the 48 hours before. The infected hosts were more likely to head out to
bars and parties.“

[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.06.014](http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.06.014)

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hungerstrike
I love to know about the world of bugs. They seem like little aliens to me.
Imagine if humans had developed some of those cool exo-skeletons or wings.
(And why didn't we?? I'm jealous!)

Despite my fascination with them - I freak out if I ever find a bug on my
person when I wasn't expecting it. I wonder if that's just a primal instinct?

~~~
scardine
Check "Why bugs are not huge"[1].

[1] [https://www.livescience.com/1776-bugs-
huge.html](https://www.livescience.com/1776-bugs-huge.html)

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Fjolsvith
I had to laugh when loading the page. It had all these social media share
buttons pop up big like and I first though it was a parody on those sites
controlling their hosts' minds.

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dicey_pv
>They found that people given a flu vaccine interacted with significantly more
people, and in significantly larger groups

I have a personal hypothesis that the coughing and sneezing that come with the
flu are also an adaptation of the virus. Getting people to cough and sneeze is
a great way to spread an airborne disease.

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lawlessone
>They found that people given a flu vaccine interacted with significantly more
people, and in significantly larger groups, in the 48 hours after being
exposed, compared with the 48 hours before. The infected hosts were more
likely to head out to bars and parties.

That's amazing

~~~
lliamander
I wonder if, as a control, they gave some people a placebo immunization (I
couldn't tell from the abstract). I'm wondering if it is the exposure to the
pathogen that is actually driving the behavior, or if it is the sense of
security conveyed by having an immunization shot that really drives the
sociability.

I believe there's already some evidence in psychological research that the
rates of infection disease in a society affects the degree of openness and
trust towards outsiders/strangers. Low disease rates, perhaps combined with
"purification rituals" reduce people's uneasiness around large groups.

~~~
cat199
also those voluntarily taking flu vaccine might be more trusting/sociable to
begin with..

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lliamander
I think the point was that they were noticing a change in sociability among
those who were already taking the vaccine. Having a higher baseline level of
sociability wouldn't be relevant.

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cat199
clear proof of evolution if I've ever seen it.

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lamarpye
Another article about LeBron James and the Raptors?

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Isamu
No obligatory mention of cellphones/Facebook?

