Wait - how come I'm still shy and I can count the number of partners I've had on two fingers even though I'm old and I grew up around cats and I have a whole litter of em now? Oh, right. This study (and headline) is retarded, that's why.

I disagree that the study is necessarily retarded. (I'd have to read the original scientific paper to have a better idea.)

I do think that most scientific studies, especially ones having to do with behavior, tend to be overhyped and inappropriately headlined.

I have two doctor friends from Scotland that are terrified of this, Toxoplasmosis. Yet many doctors in the United State don't see it as a big deal. Also, random fact, this is what killed Tommy MacKenzie in Trainspotting.

Um, this study sounds suspiciously like something out of the 1967 version of Casino Royale. The Woody Allen character creates a bomb that will make all women beautiful and kill all men over 4 foot 6.

I agree with Suz about the over-hyping of scientific studies.

The subject of Parasite infection, transmission and altered behavior has been documented in many species. It's actually a really interesting, complex (and kinda creepy!) area of study. The classic example of this sort of altered behavior is in snails. There is a large body of literature on this subject from at least the 80's on.

So, once again, I think here is an example of a study that's mainstream media coverage may have been skewed just a little.

Capucine wrote:
"Um, this study sounds suspiciously like something out of the 1967 version of Casino Royale. The Woody Allen character creates a bomb that will make all women beautiful and kill all men over 4 foot 6."

Aaah, Ms Bond! But my construction of the bomb-that-makes-bald-men-impossible-to-resist cannot be stopped!

Bwa-ha-ha!

From Wikipedia:

[Link] The evidence for behavioral effects on humans, although intriguing, is relatively weak. There have been no randomized clinical trials studying the effects of toxoplasma on human behavior. Although some researchers have found potentially important associations with toxoplasma, it is possible that these associations merely reflect factors that predispose certain types of people to infection (e.g., people who exhibit risk-taking behaviors may be more likely to take the risk of eating undercooked meat).

This is why I hate it when they let journalists try to interpret scientific studies. Just because one study shows a small correlation between "A" and "B" doesn't mean "A" causes "B". It doesn't prove that "B" causes "A" either. They may both be caused by a third and yet unstudied "C" factor. It just may be in this case that men for example "lower IQs, achieve a lower level of education and have shorter attention spans" because they grew up in impoverished communities and also as a result of which experienced a higher potential to be exposed to a parasite that infects cats. The only conclusion I draw is that the reporter who wrote this is a loud mouthed jackass.

racya: I totally agree. That's why this wannabe journalist is majoring in statistics.

I always figured my sexual appetite was directly linked to my craving for steak tartare...even my vegetarian ex agreed.

Well, as the family carnivore who likes her meat raw (but has it rare for health reasons) I'm surprised that I don't fit any of those descriptions. To call me an outgoing sex kitten is like calling Fundamentalist Christianity the greatest movement behind the advancement of women's abortion rights.

The next logical step is to say that vegetarians behave and are *not* deviants.

Chew on that one.

I have this particular disease (toxoplasmosis), and this is the first I've heard about any of this. You get the a flu like sickness at first, and then you recover. It attacks the eye, so you can have eye damage. Usually, though, all you get is a small amount of non-visible scarring. 95% of the time, they don't even treat it in men because it's almost entirely harmless. In women they only treat it if they're pregnant or are thinking of becomming so.

Well, personally, I think that .... ummmm ... well, I was going to say, .... Oh, crap, I lost my train of thought ...