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sciencecenter: My favorite example of animal parasitism I’ve already written about two amazing parasite stories today, but I’ve saved the best for last. Toxoplasmosis gondii is a parasitic protozoan that can live inside any warm-blooded animal. However, in order to reproduce, they need to be digested by cats. They can then be passed onto other mammalian hosts, including humans, through cat feces. What, you might ask, happens to a protzoan that finds itself in a non-feline host - say, inside of a rat? This is the amazing part. The parasite secretes the neurotransmitter dopamine inside of the rat, causing it to lose its fear of cats. Not only that, the infected rats become sexually attracted to cats. As you might expect, this is a particularly effective strategy for parasites that want to find their way back to cats. I’m done editorializing. Mind blown.
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sciencecenter:

My favorite example of animal parasitism

I’ve already written about two amazing parasite stories today, but I’ve saved the best for last. Toxoplasmosis gondii is a parasitic protozoan that can live inside any warm-blooded animal. However, in order to reproduce, they need to be digested by cats. They can then be passed onto other mammalian hosts, including humans, through cat feces.

What, you might ask, happens to a protzoan that finds itself in a non-feline host - say, inside of a rat? This is the amazing part. The parasite secretes the neurotransmitter dopamine inside of the rat, causing it to lose its fear of cats. Not only that, the infected rats become sexually attracted to cats. As you might expect, this is a particularly effective strategy for parasites that want to find their way back to cats.

I’m done editorializing. Mind blown.

Forever Herding Cats: Pelosi and the far Left

A coalition of liberal interest groups is pushing back on a proposal by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to extend the Bush tax cuts for individuals earning less than $1 million a year, instead pushing a proposal from President Barack Obama that would draw the line at $250,000 a year in income. — Roll Call

  • Pelosi urged Speaker John Boehner to bring up a vote on extending tax cuts for middle-class income earners “as early as next week,” when the House returns from recess. — Roll Call
nationalpost: Orvillecopter takes flight: Cat run over by car gets extra life… as a remote-controlled helicopterA cat, a helicopter, or a piece of art? The Orvillecopter by Dutch artist Bart Jansen is all of that!Jansen’s beloved pet cat Orville – named after pioneering aviator Orville Wright – is following in the steps of its namesake. When the cat was killed by a car, Jansen turned it into a helicopter. (Photos: Cris Toala Olivares/Reuters) dislike 
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nationalpost: Orvillecopter takes flight: Cat run over by car gets extra life… as a remote-controlled helicopterA cat, a helicopter, or a piece of art? The Orvillecopter by Dutch artist Bart Jansen is all of that!Jansen’s beloved pet cat Orville – named after pioneering aviator Orville Wright – is following in the steps of its namesake. When the cat was killed by a car, Jansen turned it into a helicopter. (Photos: Cris Toala Olivares/Reuters) dislike 
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nationalpost: Orvillecopter takes flight: Cat run over by car gets extra life… as a remote-controlled helicopterA cat, a helicopter, or a piece of art? The Orvillecopter by Dutch artist Bart Jansen is all of that!Jansen’s beloved pet cat Orville – named after pioneering aviator Orville Wright – is following in the steps of its namesake. When the cat was killed by a car, Jansen turned it into a helicopter. (Photos: Cris Toala Olivares/Reuters) dislike 
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nationalpost:

Orvillecopter takes flight: Cat run over by car gets extra life… as a remote-controlled helicopter
A cat, a helicopter, or a piece of art? The Orvillecopter by Dutch artist Bart Jansen is all of that!

Jansen’s beloved pet cat Orville – named after pioneering aviator Orville Wright – is following in the steps of its namesake. When the cat was killed by a car, Jansen turned it into a helicopter. (Photos: Cris Toala Olivares/Reuters)

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