Its not our fault - official!!!
Discussion
After a particularly bad coughing fit last night, I couldn'te get back to sleep, so I turned on the box to numb me, only to find a rather interesting programme on parasites on BBC1 at 2 in the morning .....
Overcome with intrigue I watched in fascination as the storieds unfolded of these intriguing creatures, some just a bacteria/virus, some a metre long
, that infest the human body and other animals as well ....
Of particular interest were the viruses that infect rats, that make them pretty much "fearless". The research shows that laboratory rats, thousands of generations in, that have never seen a cat, will recoil in horror if presented with a cat, or even the scent of cat. However, if infected with this virus, they will forget their genetic history and not take any avoiding action, and will, in fact, approach the cat, acting as if fearless.
Another one was the tapeworm that infects fish, causing them to lose their fear of herons, not taking any avoiding action should a heron approach, thus making it easier for the heron to catch and eat them, thereby infecting the heron, allowing the worm to grow and lay its eggs, passing through the heron and back to the water supply, just for the cycle to be repeated....
And as a grand finale, they introduced the toxaplasma virus, to be found in over 40% of uncooked meat on the supermarket shelves, infecting over 60% of the population of the UK and USA and an amazing 80% of the French population. This virus survives in un-cooked meat, and when eaten, progresses to the hosts brain, where it burrows in .... And once its there, it reduces the fear/risk aversion capabilities of the host...
Accident studies have shown that over 60% of those involved in accidents are infected with the toxaplasma virus ......
So there you have it, it REALLY isn't our fault that we break the occassional limit, its all down to a virus in our brains that has reduced our fear aversion capabilities and made us unable to take responsibility for our own actions - I for one am certainly going to use this as a defence in any future dealings with plod ..... "It wasn't me Guv, honest", could, for now, be true .....
Overcome with intrigue I watched in fascination as the storieds unfolded of these intriguing creatures, some just a bacteria/virus, some a metre long
, that infest the human body and other animals as well .... Of particular interest were the viruses that infect rats, that make them pretty much "fearless". The research shows that laboratory rats, thousands of generations in, that have never seen a cat, will recoil in horror if presented with a cat, or even the scent of cat. However, if infected with this virus, they will forget their genetic history and not take any avoiding action, and will, in fact, approach the cat, acting as if fearless.
Another one was the tapeworm that infects fish, causing them to lose their fear of herons, not taking any avoiding action should a heron approach, thus making it easier for the heron to catch and eat them, thereby infecting the heron, allowing the worm to grow and lay its eggs, passing through the heron and back to the water supply, just for the cycle to be repeated....
And as a grand finale, they introduced the toxaplasma virus, to be found in over 40% of uncooked meat on the supermarket shelves, infecting over 60% of the population of the UK and USA and an amazing 80% of the French population. This virus survives in un-cooked meat, and when eaten, progresses to the hosts brain, where it burrows in .... And once its there, it reduces the fear/risk aversion capabilities of the host...
Accident studies have shown that over 60% of those involved in accidents are infected with the toxaplasma virus ......
So there you have it, it REALLY isn't our fault that we break the occassional limit, its all down to a virus in our brains that has reduced our fear aversion capabilities and made us unable to take responsibility for our own actions - I for one am certainly going to use this as a defence in any future dealings with plod ..... "It wasn't me Guv, honest", could, for now, be true .....
mondeoman said:
Erm. So the science shows that 60% of all people have this, and of all those involved in accidents 60% of them have this parasite......
.....does nobody else have a problem with this *research*.
I read that as meaning that it all stacks up .....
But that's like saying 50% of the population are male and 50% of people involved in accidents were male. Or 30% of people have brown eyes and...
LexSport said:
Mr E said:
Erm. So the science shows that 60% of all people have this, and of all those involved in accidents 60% of them have this parasite......
.....does nobody else have a problem with this *research*.
I read that as meaning that it all stacks up .....
But that's like saying 50% of the population are male and 50% of people involved in accidents were male. Or 30% of people have brown eyes and...
Which just shows that there is no statistical data to show that males have more accidents ... doh, I see what you mean ....
Ah - hah, try this link for more facts (which I got wrong, its 1/3 Brits infected ...) www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/34376.html
So perhaps we do have a defence after all ......
mondeoman said:
Ah - hah, try this link for more facts (which I got wrong, its 1/3 Brits infected ...) www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/34376.html
So perhaps we do have a defence after all ......
I'm not sure whether it was this particular parasite, but I remember reading about something very similar in the Times a month or two back. The one in question was transmitted from cats to humans and the same sort of stats were reeled out.
It also said it can cause quite obvious changes in the character of the person, loosening inhibitions, making them more slovenly, etc.
Quite scary stuff really. Gives a good argument for the anti-cat league though.
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