7 ms·
Checkmate parasites. But seriously, I worry about this level of parasite infecting humans one day.
by kaliqt 2y ago
Checkmate parasites.
But seriously, I worry about this level of parasite infecting humans one day.
- someothherguyy 2y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior-altering_parasite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior-altering_parasite
- alexey-salmin 2y agoWell the Guinea worm does force humans to get into water to complete the parasitic cycle. But it's also on track to be fully eradicated. I think a parasite affecting human behavior in a substantial way is risking detection and elimination. So unlike with mantises this decreases the chance of survival, unless you paint a zombie-apocalypse kind of scenario. A successful human parasite has to alter the host behavior in a very subtle way. This could be happening even now and we wouldn't know. There's some evidence this is the case with toxoplasma increasing affection towards cats.
- dotancohen 2y agoStar Trek actually did an episode which addresses such a parasite. The episode was one of several episodes banned in a few places, I think for showing how the uninfected humans had to eradicate the infected humans violently.
- nilamo 2y agoStar Trek did a whole Wrath of Khan that addresses such a parasite :p
- rstuart4133 2y ago> Well the Guinea worm does force humans to get into water to complete the parasitic cycle. How they do this [0]: - Humans typically get infected when they unintentionally ingest copepods while drinking water. - During digestion the copepods die, releasing the D. medinensis larvae. The larvae exit the digestive tract by penetrating the stomach and intestine - About a year after the initial infection, the female migrates to the skin, forms an ulcer, and emerges. - Upon reaching its destination, the worm forms a fluid-filled blister under the skin.[5] Over 1–3 days, the blister grows larger, begins to cause severe burning pain - When the wound touches fresh water, the female spews a milky-white substance containing hundreds of thousands of larvae into the water. - The larvae are eaten by copepods, and after two to three weeks of development, they are infectious to humans again. [0] All of the above was copy & pasted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracunculiasis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracunculiasis
- praptak 2y agoPart of the eradication effort was hacking this mechanism by convincing humans to use a closed container of water when this happens. The contaminated water can then be safely disposed thus breaking the cycle.
- ithkuil 2y agoHumans routinely have very weird behaviours and while often we classify them as illness who knows how many of those we just call "a political view".
- HKH2 2y agoSSRIs, birth pills and other 'harmless' drugs modify behaviour too.
- ithkuil 2y agoFwiw food and lack thereof modifies behaviour too.
- galleywest200 2y agoIf I fail to eat regularly for about 3 days I sink into a deep funk which takes a few days of regular eating to come out of. I used to/have a problem where I just don't have the energy to eat due to being hungry and its a viscious cycle.
- unfitted2545 2y agoThis idea has grown on me a lot after watching Sam Harris’ 2013 Ted Talk, on deconstructing religion, logic and morality: https://youtu.be/qn3ITqtGzQ8 https://youtu.be/qn3ITqtGzQ8
- zbyforgotp 2y agoOr maybe it could alter the behaviour in a positve way: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasites_Lost https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasites_Lost
- DonHopkins 2y ago>But it's also on track to be fully eradicated. Thanks to Jimmy Carter! (And also a guy named Donald Hopkins, who's not me.) https://www.cartercenter.org/about/experts/donald_hopkins.html https://www.cartercenter.org/about/experts/donald_hopkins.ht...
- TheAceOfHearts 2y agoAn STD that increased human promiscuity seems like it could be really successful at spreading. I wonder if any existing STDs have evolved to do anything close to this.
- devmor 2y agoThe social stigma around being seen as "dirty" for having an STI is known to drive the infected into more risky sexual behaviors and less hygienic partners. This is why normalizing testing and treatment as everyday things are part of the public health effort.
- phatskat 2y agoDoesn’t seem like it from the ones we know about, and I think that’s why we know about them. STI symptoms are typically unpleasant, painful, and when untreated potentially deadly. HSV for example is most contagious when a person is having an outbreak of sores, which certainly wouldn’t put most people in the mood.
- carlosjobim 2y agoThey do and are what people in the past would call "demons".
- ajuc 2y agoThe parasites you should be worried about are memes (in the biological meaning - an idea that forces host to reproduce and spread it - not "a funny image" meaning). We already have such ideas that change human behaviour on massive scale and cause millions of deaths.