Kathleen McAuliff's amazing book on the role of parasites

A subject so complex and a way of writing so linear, smooth, sometimes funny and to others on the edge of science fiction: it is not easy to understand how a small parasite, such as the Guinea worm, can actually be more dangerous than a great lion of the savannah, but that's what the author tries to tell us.

Here is what the book "The parasites influence your way of thinking" teaches us by Kathleen McAuliffe, published by Il Punto d'Incontro .

An important message: the small that clearly influences what we are, what we do and how we behave.

Among analysis of research, articles, live interviews with scientists on the verge of paranoia, Kathleen McAuliffe, journalist and science writer, opens up to us the world of study of her beloved sister, who died prematurely, revealing unimaginable details and incredible stories.

Here is a video in which the author explains the influence that parasites, such as that of the cat called or Toxoplasma condii, can also manipulate the behavior of animals and of human beings.

The impact of parasites on the brain

From the bubonic plague parasite, to the Plasmodium guilty of the spread of malaria, up to the tapeworm: the manipulations of the parasites not only affect the ecosystem, but can also play an important role on the size of the human population.

There is scientific evidence that shows how parasites come into action in the organism of those who host them "intelligently", and, as the author herself says "directly or indirectly the parasites manipulate the way we think, feel and act".

Neuroparassitology is the new discipline that studies, thanks to the work of neuroscientists and parasitologists, the influence and activity of "manipulation" that parasites can exert on the human being, especially on the brain.

Pests and emotions

As McAuliffe himself states, we know that parasites can make us sick and drain our nutrients, but what surprises us is that some of them can also manipulate their host's behavior, so as to increase their own transmission and spread .

From emotions, to the physical necessity of water, sociality or isolation, to basic needs: parasites can strive and act to keep themselves alive in the most unthinkable ways.

Behavior is also understood as sexual relations: here is the example of the rodent that tends to be attracted and to approach the urine of cats and therefore to be eaten, so the Toxoplasma from the mouse can reach the intestine of the cats and inside it continue its life cycle.

Social relations influenced by parasites

"The man at the other end had a strong Czech accent. His name was Jaroslav Flegr and he was an evolutionary biologist at the University of Prague in Prague with a very strange story. He was convinced that his mind was not completely under his he had often felt as though an alien force were directing his actions.That force was the cat parasite, a unicellular protozoan he called the scientific name, Toxoplasma gondii, but also, from time to time, toxo or T. gondii to abbreviate . "

It is not the beginning of a medical thriller: here Kathleen McAuliffe reports her phone call with the doctor who opened her eyes: Helicobacter and ulcer, toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia, the "social" flu and cold viruses, so many are studies still in progress on the social action of parasites.

Beyond those " most well-known pests, which make news, " did you not want to investigate and browse through pages of these "dangerous relationships" of which we often ignore their existence?

Here is a taste in English also from the New Scientist scientific dissemination site with which the author collaborates.