Could Parasites Turn Us into Zombies?
Curiosity Weekly
Warner Bros. Discovery
4.6 • 964 Ratings
🗓️ 23 October 2020
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Learn about whether parasites can turn us into zombies, why awkward silences are so awkward, and why bubbles form in boiling water.
Could parasites turn us into zombies? By Cameron Duke
- Ahmed, I. (2019, November). The science of zombies: Will the undead rise? Phys.Org; Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-science-zombies-undead.html
- Blum, J., Schmid, C., & Burri, C. (2006). Clinical aspects of 2541 patients with second stage human African trypanosomiasis. Acta Tropica, 97(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2005.08.001
- Flegr, J. (2007). Effects of Toxoplasma on Human Behavior. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33(3), 757–760. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbl074
- McAuliffe, K. (2012, February 6). How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/
- Pappas, S. (2011, October 20). Unrelenting Sex Drive May Signal Deadly Rabies. Livescience.Com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/16627-sex-drive-rabies-infection.html
- Thomas, B. (2015, October 29). Meet the Parasites That Control Human Brains. Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/meet-the-parasites-that-control-human-brains
The Science of Awkward Silences by Anna Todd
- Koudenburg, N., Postmes, T., & Gordijn, E. H. (2011). Disrupting the flow: How brief silences in group conversations affect social needs. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(2), 512–515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.12.006
- Koudenburg, N., Postmes, T., & Gordijn, E. H. (2013). Resounding Silences. Social Psychology Quarterly, 76(3), 224–241. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272513496794
Why do bubbles form in boiling water? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Abu)
- UCSB Science Line. (2020). Ucsb.Edu. http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=3197
- Why Does Water Bubble When It Boils? (2019, November 2). Wonderopolis.Org. https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-does-water-bubble-when-it-boils
- Helmenstine, A.M. (2019). Know the Chemical Composition of Bubbles in Boiling Water. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-are-the-bubbles-in-boiling-water-4109061
- Breslyn, W. (2016). Boiling, Atmospheric Pressure, and Vapor Pressure [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag4lLUXKuSM
- FAQ: Boiling and altitude/pressure. (2020). IAPWS.org. http://www.iapws.org/faq1/boil.html
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Curiosity.com. |
| 0:06.7 | I'm Ashley Hamer. |
| 0:07.7 | And I'm Natalia Reagan. |
| 0:08.8 | Today you learn about whether parasites can turn us into zombies why awkward silences are so awkward and why bubbles |
| 0:17.1 | form in boiling water. Oh that was awkward. Let's satisfy some curiosity. |
| 0:22.4 | zombies aren't. awkward. Let's satisfy some curiosity. |
| 0:23.0 | zombies aren't real. |
| 0:26.0 | There are no known viruses that reanimate the dead. |
| 0:29.0 | But before you get too comfortable, I want to talk brain parasites. |
| 0:34.0 | These three brain parasites don't exactly turn people into zombies, |
| 0:39.0 | but they do have some freaky mind control powers. |
| 0:42.0 | The first one I want to talk about is |
| 0:44.8 | Toxoplasma gondi-i. This is a parasite that takes over the brains of mice and |
| 0:49.7 | makes them sexually aroused by the scent of cat urine. |
| 0:54.0 | Not good if a mouse wants to avoid being eaten. |
| 0:57.4 | Cats take advantage of the easy meal |
| 0:59.6 | and end up infected. |
| 1:01.8 | Once the parasite is safely inside the cat, it lays its eggs, which end up in |
| 1:06.5 | the cat's poop. Ultimately, toxoplasma wants to infect mice and cats, but because cats are adorable enough to make humans clean their litter boxes, |
| 1:15.7 | toxoplasma can make its way into the human brain too. While toxoplasma doesn't affect |
| 1:21.7 | human brains as severely as it does mouse brains, |
| 1:24.9 | there is some evidence that it can affect people's personalities. |
... |
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