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Tag Archives: Parasite
Bong Joon-Ho Leads Press Conference Calling For Investigation Into Korean Police And Media Following Death Of ‘Parasite’ Actor Lee Sun-Kyun – Deadline
- Bong Joon-Ho Leads Press Conference Calling For Investigation Into Korean Police And Media Following Death Of ‘Parasite’ Actor Lee Sun-Kyun Deadline
- Bong Joon-ho Leads Protest Against Korean Police and Media Following Suicide of Actor Lee Sun-kyun Variety
- Bong Joon-Ho Among Korean Artists Calling for Investigation Into Parasite Star Lee Sun-kyun’s Death IGN
- Parasite Director Bong Joon-ho Calls for Investigation Into Lee Sun-kyun’s Death PEOPLE
- ‘Parasite’ director slams police, S. Korean media over star’s death | AFP AFP News Agency
Bong Joon-ho, Korean Filmmakers Call for Investigation into Circumstances Surrounding Death of ‘Parasite’ Star Lee Sun-kyun – Hollywood Reporter
- Bong Joon-ho, Korean Filmmakers Call for Investigation into Circumstances Surrounding Death of ‘Parasite’ Star Lee Sun-kyun Hollywood Reporter
- Bong Joon Ho and other entertainment leaders to hold a press conference and demand a detailed report from the police about Lee Sun Gyun’s drug use investigation allkpop
- Oscar-Winning Director Calls For Investigation Into Actor’s Death Giant Freakin Robot
- Bong Joon-ho, other artists call for probe into Lee Sun-kyun’s death entertainment.inquirer.net
- Korean Film Industry Mourn Lee Sun-kyun with Unprecedented Actions KBIZoom
Bong Joon-ho, Korean Filmmakers Call for Investigation into Circumstances Surrounding Death of ‘Parasite’ Star Lee Sun-kyun – Hollywood Reporter
- Bong Joon-ho, Korean Filmmakers Call for Investigation into Circumstances Surrounding Death of ‘Parasite’ Star Lee Sun-kyun Hollywood Reporter
- Bong Joon Ho and other entertainment leaders to hold a press conference and demand a detailed report from the police about Lee Sun Gyun’s drug use investigation allkpop
- Oscar-Winning Director Calls For Investigation Into Actor’s Death Giant Freakin Robot
- Bong Joon-Ho Among Korean Artists Calling For Probe Into ‘Parasite’ Actor Lee Sun-Kyun’s Death Deadline
- Bong Joon-ho, other artists call for probe into Lee Sun-kyun’s death Inquirer.net
South Korean celebrities attend Lee Sun-kyun’s memorial; police defend ‘Parasite’ actor’s drug probe – South China Morning Post
- South Korean celebrities attend Lee Sun-kyun’s memorial; police defend ‘Parasite’ actor’s drug probe South China Morning Post
- Death of ‘Parasite’ star puts spotlight on pressures facing South Korean celebrities CNN
- South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’ is found dead The Associated Press
- Death of Lee Sun-kyun of ‘Parasite’ Highlights South Korea’s Drug Crackdown The New York Times
- Lee Sun-kyun is 5th Korean star to die of suspected suicide; 12 have perished in tragedies in recent years The Mercury News
‘Parasite’ Star Lee Sun-kyun Removed From Project Amid Police Probe Over Suspected Drug Use – Hollywood Reporter
- ‘Parasite’ Star Lee Sun-kyun Removed From Project Amid Police Probe Over Suspected Drug Use Hollywood Reporter
- ‘Parasite’ actor Lee Sun-kyun booked by police over suspected drug use NME
- “I See Handcuffs” — Eerie Video Of Fortune Teller Predicting Lee Sun Kyun’s Future Goes Viral Amidst His Drug Allegations Koreaboo
- Gangnam Entertainment Venue Manager claims Lee Sun Gyun was a VIP guest indulging in drug use allkpop
- Lee Sun-kyun drops out of K-drama ‘No Way Out’ amid drug investigation controversy NME
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Behavior-changing parasite moves wolves to the head of the pack
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite that can infect any warm-blooded species. In lab studies, infection with T. gondii has been shown to increase dopamine and testosterone levels along with risk-taking behaviors in hosts including rodents, chimps, and hyenas. Oh, and humans.
But its effects have not really been studied in the wild, so some researchers decided to assess how infection impacts gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park. They found that “the odds that a seropositive [infected] wolf becomes a pack leader is more than 46 times higher than a seronegative wolf becoming a pack leader.”
In the wild
Serum samples have been taken from the wolf packs in Yellowstone since 1995. These scientists assayed samples from 229 individual wolves taken over the years—116 males, 112 females, and one hermaphrodite—to try to correlate the presence of antibodies against the parasite with demographic factors and specific behaviors. (The relationship between antibodies and infection is complicated, given that the parasite can persist at low levels indefinitely after infections.)
Gray wolves and cougars are intermediate hosts and definitive hosts, respectively, of T. gondii, meaning the parasite grows to sexual maturity in wolves but needs to infect cougars to reproduce sexually. The two carnivores have some overlapping territory within Yellowstone, especially along its northern edge, and they compete for the same prey. Living in an area of high cougar overlap was the single biggest predictor of a wolf being infected with the parasite, more than any demographic factors like the wolf’s age, sex, or coat color.
Wolves with antibodies against the parasite were significantly more likely to disperse (leave their packs and set out on their own) and to become pack leaders. Pursuing both of these courses of action constitutes aggressive and risky wolf behavior, and they represent the two biggest decisions in a wolf’s life.
Parasites in charge?
Because gray wolves live together in groups, pack leaders have a disproportionate effect on their collective decisions. An infected leader may increase the overall number of infected wolves, both because pack leaders have a reproductive advantage and because risk-taking leaders might be less hesitant to lead their packs into cougar territory, where they can pick up their own infections.
Plus, wolves are social creatures who learn from and emulate their leader’s behaviors. So T. gondii-infected, aggressive, risk-taking pack leaders can yield “a more assertive, risk-embracing pack culture even though only a few key individuals are actually infected.”
Of course, increased engagement in risky behaviors is dangerous, so some of these hyper-aggressive wolf leaders and the packs that copy them are more likely to get themselves killed. Regardless, the selfish genes dictating their behaviors and their fates aren’t even their own genes. Parasites are the puppeteers.
communications biology, 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04122-0
Behavior-changing parasite moves wolves to the head of the pack
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite that can infect any warm-blooded species. In lab studies, infection with T. gondii has been shown to increase dopamine and testosterone levels along with risk-taking behaviors in hosts including rodents, chimps, and hyenas. Oh, and humans.
But its effects have not really been studied in the wild, so some researchers decided to assess how infection impacts gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park. They found that “the odds that a seropositive [infected] wolf becomes a pack leader is more than 46 times higher than a seronegative wolf becoming a pack leader.”
In the wild
Serum samples have been taken from the wolf packs in Yellowstone since 1995. These scientists assayed samples from 229 individual wolves taken over the years—116 males, 112 females, and one hermaphrodite—to try to correlate the presence of antibodies against the parasite with demographic factors and specific behaviors. (The relationship between antibodies and infection is complicated, given that the parasite can persist at low levels indefinitely after infections.)
Gray wolves and cougars are intermediate hosts and definitive hosts, respectively, of T. gondii, meaning the parasite grows to sexual maturity in wolves but needs to infect cougars to reproduce sexually. The two carnivores have some overlapping territory within Yellowstone, especially along its northern edge, and they compete for the same prey. Living in an area of high cougar overlap was the single biggest predictor of a wolf being infected with the parasite, more than any demographic factors like the wolf’s age, sex, or coat color.
Wolves with antibodies against the parasite were significantly more likely to disperse (leave their packs and set out on their own) and to become pack leaders. Pursuing both of these courses of action constitutes aggressive and risky wolf behavior, and they represent the two biggest decisions in a wolf’s life.
Parasites in charge?
Because gray wolves live together in groups, pack leaders have a disproportionate effect on their collective decisions. An infected leader may increase the overall number of infected wolves, both because pack leaders have a reproductive advantage and because risk-taking leaders might be less hesitant to lead their packs into cougar territory, where they can pick up their own infections.
Plus, wolves are social creatures who learn from and emulate their leader’s behaviors. So T. gondii-infected, aggressive, risk-taking pack leaders can yield “a more assertive, risk-embracing pack culture even though only a few key individuals are actually infected.”
Of course, increased engagement in risky behaviors is dangerous, so some of these hyper-aggressive wolf leaders and the packs that copy them are more likely to get themselves killed. Regardless, the selfish genes dictating their behaviors and their fates aren’t even their own genes. Parasites are the puppeteers.
communications biology, 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04122-0
A Strange Thing Happens to Wolves Infected by Infamous Mind-Altering Parasite : ScienceAlert
A study of 26 years’ worth of wolf behavioral data, and an analysis of the blood of 229 wolves, has shown that infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii makes wolves 46 times more likely to become a pack leader.
The research shows that the effects of this parasite in the wild have been horrendously understudied – and its role in ecosystems and animal behavior underestimated.
If you have a cat, you’ve probably heard of this parasite before. The microscopic organism can only reproduce in the bodies of felines, but it can infect and thrive in pretty much all warm-blooded animals.
This includes humans, where it can cause a typically symptomless (but still potentially fatal) parasitic disease called toxoplasmosis.
Once it’s in another host, individual T. gondii parasites needs to find a way to get their offspring back inside a cat if it doesn’t want to become an evolutionary dead-end. And it has a kind of creepy way of maximizing its chances.
Animals such as rats infected with the parasite start taking more risks, and in some cases actually become fatally attracted to the scent of feline urine, and thus more likely to be killed by them.
For larger animals, such as chimpanzees, it means an increased risk of a run-in with a larger cat, such as a leopard. Hyenas infected with T. gondii also are more likely to be killed by lions.
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the Yellowstone National Park aren’t exactly cat prey. But sometimes their territory overlaps with that of cougars (Puma concolor), known carriers of T. gondii, and the two species both prey on the elk (Cervus canadensis), bison (Bison bison), and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) that also can be found there.
It’s possible that wolves also become infected, perhaps from occasionally eating dead cougars, or ingesting cougar poo.
Data collected on the wolves and their behavior for nearly 27 years offered a rare opportunity to study the effects of the parasite on a wild, intermediate host.
The researchers, led by biologists Connor Meyer and Kira Cassidy of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, also took a look at blood samples from wolves and cougars to gauge the rate of T. gondii infection.
They found that wolves with a lot of territory overlap with cougars were more likely to be infected with T. gondii.
But there was a behavioral consequence, too, with significantly increased risk-taking.
Infected wolves were 11 times more likely to disperse from their pack, into new territory. Infected males had a 50 percent probability of leaving their pack within six months, compared with a more typical 21 months for the uninfected.
Similarly, infected females had 25 percent chance of leaving their pack within 30 months, compared with 48 months for those who weren’t infected.
Infected wolves were also way more likely to become pack leaders. T. gondii may increase testosterone levels, which could in turn lead to heightened aggression and dominance, which are traits that would help a wolf assert itself as a pack leader.
This has a couple of important consequences. Pack leaders are the ones who reproduce, and T. gondii transmission can be congenital, passed from mother to offspring. But it can also affect the dynamics of the entire pack.
“Due to the group-living structure of the gray wolf pack, the pack leaders have a disproportionate influence on their pack mates and on group decisions,” the researchers write in their paper.
“If the lead wolves are infected with T. gondii and show behavioral changes … this may create a dynamic whereby behavior, triggered by the parasite in one wolf, influences the rest of the wolves in the pack.”
If, for example, the pack leader seeks out the scent of cougar pee as they boldly push into new territory, they could face greater exposure to the parasite, thus a greater rate of T. gondii infection throughout the wolf population. This generates a sort of feedback loop of increased overlap and infection.
It’s compelling evidence that tiny, understudied agents can have a huge influence on ecosystem dynamics.
“This study demonstrates how community-level interactions can affect individual behavior and could potentially scale up to group-level decision-making, population biology, and community ecology,” the researchers write.
“Incorporating the implications of parasite infections into future wildlife research is vital to understanding the impacts of parasites on individuals, groups, populations, and ecosystem processes.”
The research has been published in Communications Biology.
Wolves infected with a common parasite may be much more likely to become pack leaders
A team of researchers with the Yellowstone Wolf Project at the Yellowstone Center for Resources, in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming, has found that wolves in the park who become infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite, are much more likely to become leaders of their pack. In their study, reported in the journal Communications Biology, the group analyzed data from studies of the wolves in the park over a 26-year period.
T. gondii is an obligate parasite that infects the protozoa in cells of infected animals. Such infections are known as toxoplasmosis, and they occur in almost all warm-blooded animals, including humans. Prior research has shown that in most cases, symptoms are few, through there is some evidence that suggests that they can lead to an increase in erratic or aggressive behavior.
In this new effort, the researchers wondered what sort of impact of T. gondii infections might have on wild wolves. To find out, they conducted an extensive study of wolves living in Yellowstone National Park.
The work involved studying data from blood samples taken from over 200 wolves living in the park over the years 1995–2020, while looking for evidence of infection. The researchers also looked at the notes made by research observers to learn more about any behavior changes that might have been evident in the wolves.
The researchers found that young, infected wolves tended to leave their packs earlier than those uninfected. Infected males were 50% more likely to leave their pack as early as six months after birth. Males normally stay for up to 21 months. And infected females were 25% more likely to leave their pack at 30 months, rather than the normal 48.
The researchers also found that infected males were more than 46 times more likely to become pack leaders than uninfected males. The researchers also found that infection rates were higher in wolves that mingled with cougars. The researchers suggest the differences in behavior were likely due to the impact of the parasite on the brains of wolves, making them bolder and less likely to back down when challenged by others.
More information:
Connor J. Meyer et al, Parasitic infection increases risk-taking in a social, intermediate host carnivore, Communications Biology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04122-0
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Wolves infected with a common parasite may be much more likely to become pack leaders (2022, November 25)
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