How Toxoplasma changed human culture

Here’s a fascinating story on how the parasite Toxoplasma gondii could have influenced (partly) the manner in which people from different parts of the world developed along different cultural lines.
When the parasite infects the brains of rats and mice, it alters their behavior, making them more reckless than normal–reckless enough that they don’t avoid [...]

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club

CNN has an interesting article on social isolation in the US. Despite being a modern country of nearly 300 million that prides itself on its technological connectivity, this nation has an increasing number of lonely people. Chronic loneliness can be a serious condition, and is a major risk factor for depression, high blood pressure, herat [...]