You should be brave enough to clean out the mess buried in your cat’s litter box. According to a new study, a parasite found in the cat’s feces can help humans to become more comfortable with fearful situations. The parasite named Toxoplasma gondii is found in the feces of cats that infects a vast majority of people of more than 2 billion across the globe. The parasite is also believed to uplift the behavior of rodents making them less afraid of the cats. The researchers from the University of Colorado studied the bug that might affect humans making them more comfortable towards risks in business and other aspects of life.
Although, researchers need more advanced research to explain the findings, however, they did not find any correlations. People at the entrepreneurial events and functions who carried the parasite were two times more likely to have started their own businesses as compared to other attendees. The college students who were infected with this parasite were seen 1.4 times to excel in businesses as compared to their counterparts. Stefanie Johnson, associate professor and the leader of the study published the findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B on Wednesday.
When the rodents were infected with the parasite, they showed behavioral changes where they were less afraid of cats and more likely to be eaten.
Toxoplasma Gondii is the parasite found in the cat’s feces that has been linked with increased risks of car accidents, neuroticism, mental illness, suicide, and drug abuse, as stated by the researchers who wrote the study. The parasite is also considered to alter several brain chemistry and behavior aspects especially around dopamine which is a chemical linked to pleasure. Around 60 million US people carry this cat’s parasite and often after making contact with raw meat or cat’s feces, as stated by the centers for disease control. It cannot be noticed because the human immune system usually combats all the symptoms.
