5 ms·
The article described something specific that could be tested. I leave it to the scientist to design a similarly specific experiment for humans. Also the "reckl
by ptha 5y ago
The article described something specific that could be tested. I leave it to the scientist to design a similarly specific experiment for humans. Also the "reckless" behaviour exhibited by the cubs disappeared after there were older than 1 year:
While uninfected cubs stayed an average of 300 feet away from lions, cubs that had Toxoplasma antibodies in their blood had ventured within an average of 142 feet from the predators, a dangerous proximity. These differences disappeared after the cubs turned one, perhaps because the survivors learned not to get too close to the felines.
- trhway 5y agoso those infected survivors got much closer than the healthy ones and yet survived. Sounds like a [harsh] filter for the high survivability traits which may be beneficial for the population, and that may explain why the [susceptibility to the] infection hasn't been selected out.
- Retric 5y agoPossibly, but luck isn’t an inheritable trait.
- eru 5y ago> [...] which may be beneficial for the population, [...] Do keep in mind that evolution mostly works on the level of genes, and perhaps individuals. It doesn't really work on the level of the population. See eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection