我们人类非常依赖于我们的大脑,而且为它们的大小和复杂程度而感到骄傲。我们用吞食大脑的怪兽故事来吓唬我们的孩子,而且着迷般的研究它们如何进行,即使这些努力都是竹篮打水。然而我们被一种简单的单细胞生物给冒犯了,它们能操纵我们最喜爱的器官,包括我们思考和办事的方式。这就是地球上最有趣的寄生虫——刚地弓形虫。这种单细胞原生动物生活在猫的内脏当中,它们在那里生活和进食并且产生卵一样的细胞随着猫大肠的运动而排出。这些细胞会找方法进入到与猫粪便接触的其他动物体内。一旦进入新的宿主,这些寄生虫就会发生变化并移动到各种组织中形成囊肿,其中就包括宿主的大脑,那里才是有趣的事情发生的根源。非常难以置信的是,弓形虫已经进化出确保进入猫内脏的事情发 We humans depend very much on our brains and are proud of their size and complexity. We scare our children with monster stories that devour our brains and are fascinated by how they are conducted, even if these efforts are baskets of water. Yet we are offended by a simple single-celled creature that manipulates our favorite organs, including the way we think and do things. This is the most interesting parasite on earth - Toxoplasma gondii. This single-celled protozoan lives in the internal organs of cats, where they live and feed and the egg-like cells are expelled as the cat’s large intestine moves. These cells find ways to get into other animals that come into contact with cat litter. Once inside a new host, the parasites change and move into various tissues to form a cyst, including the host’s brain, where the fun is happening. It is very hard to believe that Toxoplasma gondii have evolved to ensure that they enter the internal organs of cats