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LHC Rap - Physicists have fun too

Parasite 'turns women into sex kittens'

A COMMON parasite can increase a women's attractiveness to the opposite sex but also make men more stupid, an Australian researcher says.

About 40 per cent of the world's population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, including about eight million Australians.
Human infection generally occurs when people eat raw or undercooked meat that has cysts containing the parasite, or accidentally ingest some of the parasite's eggs excreted by an infected cat.
The parasite is known to be dangerous to pregnant women as it can cause disability or abortion of the unborn child, and can also kill people whose immune systems are weakened.
Until recently it was thought to be an insignificant disease in healthy people, Sydney University of Technology infectious disease researcher Nicky Boulter said, but new research has revealed its mind-altering properties.
"Interestingly, the effect of infection is different between men and women,'' Dr Boulter writes in the latest issue of Australasian Science magazine.
"Infected men have lower IQs, achieve a lower level of education and have shorter attention spans. They are also more likely to break rules and take risks, be more independent, more anti-social, suspicious, jealous and morose, and are deemed less attractive to women.
"On the other hand, infected women tend to be more outgoing, friendly, more promiscuous, and are considered more attractive to men compared with non-infected controls.
"In short, it can make men behave like alley cats and women behave like sex kittens''.
Dr Boulter said the recent Czech Republic research was not conclusive, but was backed up by animal studies that found infection also changes the behaviour of mice.
The mice were more likely to take risks that increased their chance of being eaten by cats, which would allow the parasite to continue its life cycle.
Rodents treated with drugs that killed the parasites reversed their behaviour, Dr Boulter said.
Another study showed people who were infected but not showing symptoms were 2.7 times more likely than uninfected people to be involved in a car accident as a driver or pedestrian, while other research has linked the parasite to higher incidences of schizophrenia.
"The increasing body of evidence connecting Toxoplasma infection with changes in personality and mental state, combined with the extremely high incidence of human infection in both developing and developed countries, warrants increased government funding and research, in particular to find safe and effective treatments or vaccines,'' Dr Boulter said.

Sourced from mysterytopia

Russian explorers reach bed of world's deepest lake in Siberia

IRKUTSK, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - A team of Russian scientists descended to the bottom of Siberia's Lake Baikal in two mini-submarines on Tuesday, setting a new world record for a freshwater dive. (Photo tour with RIA Novosti: Lake Baikal)

News channel Vesti-24 said the submersibles, Mir-1 and Mir-2, reached a depth of 1,680 meters (5,500 feet) in the world's deepest lake, which holds 20% of the planet's fresh water.

The ongoing expedition in what locals call the 'Sacred Sea' was organized by Artur Chilingarov, a Russian lawmaker who led a symbolic dive to the North Pole seabed last August, during which a Russian flag was planted on the seabed.

Chilingarov earlier said the Mir dives were "a logical continuation of lake exploration that was begun 30 years ago with the Pisces apparatus."

Soviet scientists in a Pisces submersible reached a depth of 1,410 meters (4,600 feet) in 1977, and examined the lake's bed with searchlights. The lake has since been the focus of numerous Soviet, Russian and international research expeditions.

Chilingarov said "major technical problems" have to be overcome in deep dives into the lake, due to "difficult weather conditions which dictate their own special conditions in fresh water."

Baikal, whose age scientists estimate at 25 million years, is a UNESCO World Heritage site with hundreds of species of unique fauna and flora.

Crew member Natalia Komarova, the first woman to take part in a Mir mini-sub dive, told reporters that the results of the expedition would have an important impact on environmental legislation. (VIDEO)

"We need to understand how to protect Baikal and use it without harming its unique ecosystem," she said.

She said new safeguards would be needed to protect the lake, given the planned intensive economic and industrial development of East Siberia over the coming years. The lake has been the focus of major environmental scares in recent years, with a last-minute change to an oil pipeline route that was set to pass near Baikal's shores, and environmental regulators' claims against a pulp mill accused of pumping large volumes of toxic waste into the lake.

The research team is based on the lake's Olkhon Island, where the mini-subs were delivered earlier in the day on barges. The crew includes the head of the local administration and the president of investment company Metropol, which has contributed $6 million to the expedition.

The expedition is set to run for two years, during which the scientists will conduct around 160 dives in various areas of the lake. Research will include tectonic information-gathering, and exploration for archeological artifacts. Expedition leaders have denied media reports that they will also be searching for oil and gas.

With thanks to - em.rian.ru

Keith Barry: Brain magic

Keith Barry is a daring illusionist, whose astonishing stunts will make you question whether you can believe your eyes. No mere magician, Barry's repertoire ranges from outrageous stunts -- driving a car at full speed blindfolded -- to powerful attempts at mind control, including hypnosis and mindreading. The Irish magician's relaxed style and comedic delivery have made him an audience favorite worldwide, both in live shows and on his European television series, Close Encounters with Keith Barry, which aired in 28 countries. He's also had specials on MTV and CBS, and has tried his hand at acting as a murder suspect on CSI: Miami.

First, Keith Barry shows us how our brains can fool our bodies -- in a trick that works via podcast too. Then he involves the audience in some jaw-dropping (and even a bit dangerous) feats of brain magic.

Check it out

The Bizaar Land Exploring Fish - Terranaut

I think all that needs to be said here is, nice invention but could do with being a bit faster!