A Groundbreaking Study Is Good News for Cats—And People

Of the many parasites known to control the mind of their host, none is more famous than Toxoplasma gondii—the single-celled organism known colloquially as Toxo. It can survive in a variety of animals, but it only reproduces sexually in cats. If it gets into mice or rats, it alters their behavior so they become fatally attracted to the scent of feline urine. They get eaten, the cat gets infected, and Toxo gets to make more Toxo.

Toxo infects more than a third of the world’s people, spreading through undercooked meat or food or water contaminated by infected cat waste (but through direct contact with cats).. But it can also pass from mother to fetus, causing blindness, developmental problems, hydrocephalus, and other disabilities. There is no vaccine or cure, and research has been generally slow and difficult, which Toxo’s cat-dependent life cycle doesn’t help.