For some, cats are more than just household pets that you occasionally pet, but cats are more of companions and more human-like in some aspects. These people are often referred to as the “crazy cat ladies” of the world. Stores such as Urban Outfitters has recently started a trend in cat apparel, mugs, pins, or anything else you could think of. Could this be because cat ladies are on the rise? Or is this just another marketing scheme to make the already crazy even crazier?

Recent studies have been blaming the toxoplasma parasite on this cat lady phenomena. We had recently talked about this in class, however nothing was said of it causing a love of cats… As crazy as this sounds, when I searched toxoplasma and cat ladies many things appeared, it was also said here that over 60 million people in the U.S. alone have this parasite. If you weren’t in class when we talked about this parasite then here are a few facts, the parasite needs a host, only able to live in the gut of a cat in order to reproduce, the parasite forms eggs that pass through the animals fecal matter. This then can come into contact with mice or even humans. The toxoplasma controls the Amygdala in the brain which controls things like your emotions. This makes the rat or mouse become somewhat “attracted” to cats and easier for the cats to prey on. Then this forms a cycle of cat eats rat, and parasite lives in cat’s gut producing eggs, then the cat produces fecal matter that rat eats. So what happens when toxoplasma gets into a human? We can’t exactly be killed by cats so what would it make our brain think to do?

Here’s where the science gets a little shaky. Studies are all over the place in explaining what actually the parasite makes us think, if anything at all! There were no studies on whether or not you can become a cat lady from this parasite, however I found many other interesting studies on this parasite. 

This study tells us that women exposed to the parasite were 54% more likely to attempt suicide compared to non infected women, this percentage went up depending on how high the levels of infection were, creating a positive correlation between level of infection and suicide. However this article is clearly stating that correlation does not equal causation and they aren’t ruling out reverse causation in this case either. Did they take into consideration other variables? The study was fairly large of 45,000 women in Denmark who were infected. However, according to abc news, about 10 million people attempt suicide every year and 1 million succeed. I think a better observational study would be to test the suicide victims to see if they had the parasite when they died.

Also, studies such as this one have shown a link between traffic accidents and the parasite. It states that infected people are 3 to 4 more times as likely of being in car accidents due to reckless driving. The parasite is known to impair reaction time which would explain why if you’re infected, you’re more likely to get into a car accident. It’s also known to make people more of a risk-taker which can be linked back to the suicide studies.

Many of these articles also believe that the majority of people pick up the virus from uncooked or undercooked meat.The CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say that eating undercooked meat or accidentally ingesting contaminated meat is a main way to get infected. Also coming into contact with contaminated cat feces is a way to get infected. So people don’t necessarily have to have a cat to pick up this parasite.

There are many crazy studies out there on this parasite and the effects it has on our bodies and minds. However, there is no scientific evidence that being infected with toxoplasma makes us more attracted to cats. It is a very interesting thing to think about, but as of science now, there is no link. To clear up this problem, and possibly to save lives of the infected, we could conduct more observational studies comparing people that are affected and their everyday actions with the non infected. Even more experimental animal studies could be done to better explain the effects toxoplasma has on other creatures rather than just mice. I believe that something could be going on in our brains when infected, the main question being what? 

Ending on a few last questions, do you think toxo controls our mind? Do you think it can make us suicidal when no other factors are involved? Could this explain why some of us are poor drivers compared to others? Are we in danger of all being crazy cat ladies if infected?

We always think that if you’ve made a lot of money in your lifetime that you are now magically a successful person and have achieved your life goals. Whenever you see someone with an outstanding amount of money they usually have nice cars, homes, vacations, jewelry etc. But the question I’m asking today is does money really equal success?    

      The USA is known to be a country full of material things and materialistic people. I know myself and I love getting a new pair of shoes or dress, I mean who wouldn’t? We all want to be rich and make lots of money, but many people who have a lot of money seem to think of themselves as “successful”. However, success is not based off of the check you receive each month, but rather the relationships your form and the feeling of satisfaction within yourself. The money you earn is simply an object or material, but what are important is the people you share it with. According to NASDAQ,  “In a new study commissioned by American Express, most survey respondents said you don’t need to have a lot of money to be successful. Instead, good health, good relationships and agood job were deemed by respondents to be more indicative of a successful “

      You need to step back, and realize that happiness and success aren’t about how much money you make but the experiences you make of them. “Research shows experiences provide more happiness than material goods in part because experiences are more likely to make us feel connected to others “Haven’t you ever noticed celebrities start off being extremely humble and kind and once the money gets to their heads (because they have too much of a good thing) it changes them completely. According to Business Insider, “This is the sad reality of the human experience: The more we’re exposed to something, the more its impact diminishes”. 

            I was doing some research about college education, and came across an article that really came to my interest. I found an article that found a link between having a college education and happiness. It is said that people who are more happy are more likely to at least attain a bachelors degree.

            According to the dean of students in Grand Valley State University, a college education is a personal growth tool to open doors for many other positive experiences in life. It is said that having a college education improves the quality of your life. When the quality of your life is improved, it makes you happier and content. When you are happier and content, it translates into better relationships and being able to have fun easier.

            The median income for someone without and with a college degree is very different. Thus, many people seem to believe that money brings happiness. An individual with a bachelor’s degree earns almost $1000 more then one who doesn’t.

            On the contrary, there may be many other factors while getting a college education, that can hep an individual become happy. The stability of a college degree can also play a role when determining happiness.

As said by someone in the article, “People who don’t pursue a college education are at a competitive disadvantage. There is a higher need for more education for the skills to do work in this advanced economy”.

Overall College Education brings happiness because:

1.     Competitive Advantage

2.     Feel Sucessful

3.     Make more money

4.     So many more reasons

http://www.lanthorn.com/article/2012/02/college_education_happiness_level_are_related_study_says

For years, my mother has been constantly telling me to separate my laptop from my stomach or lap via a pillow. She claims that the radiation could seriously affect my chances of conceiving a child when I am older. Of course, I have obliged to make her happy, but to be honest I’ve also continued to do it out of fear. However, I have learned that it is simply not true.

As stated on www.parents.com, the heat from a laptop cannot seriously affect the fertility of a woman. The heat is external, while a woman’s ovaries are internal. The distance between the two is too vast for their to be any serious connection or correlation between the two.

However, this does not particularly excuse males from resting their laptop on their lap or stomach. Since both the laptop’s heat and a male’s genitals are external, the chances of a laptop’s radiation affecting sperm production is much higher. The heat raises the temperature of the testicles which could negatively affect the production rate, or production at all, of sperm.

In a study published in Fertility and Sterility, researchers obtained 29 male’s semen and exposed it to Wi-Fi radiation for four hours. 1/4th of the semen was no longer swimming, in comparison to 14% of the semen (not exposed to Wi-Fi) that were also no longer swimming. The researcher came to the conclusion that laptop radiation does in fact affect a Male’s fertility.

For now, this hypothesis has been strongly supported & not condemned. So males, what do you think? Will laptop radiation eventually be found to not be a source of male infertility? If you’re more interested in learning about how laptop’s might affect fertility, click HERE.

Until then, if you plan on having children, try to keep those laptops of your laps!

“Just hold your breath!” “No let me scare them out of you!” “Drink water upside down!” “Stop eating so fast!”

Recently I took part in a 24 hour marathon for the video game club in which we play games in the HUB for 24 hours to raise money for charity. I personally did attend most of it, but I did not stay up the full 24 hours of the event and went to sleep for a few hours. Even though the event was for charity, staying up 24 hours without any sleep is not the best idea.