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Parasites Make Scaredy-Rats Foolhardy

2000; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 289; Issue: 5479 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1126/science.289.5479.525b

1095-9203

Carl Zimmer,

Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies

In the 7 August issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, researchers offer a striking demonstration of the ability of some parasites to alter the behavior of their hosts for their own benefit. Rats, the intermediate hosts of the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, appear to lose their fear of cats, Toxoplasma's final host, when the parasite infects them. By precisely altering rat brains, the parasite potentially increases its chances of completing its life cycle.