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Turborama

(22,109 posts)
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 07:52 AM Nov 2014

Virus that 'makes humans more stupid' discovered

Source: The Independent (UK)

A virus that infects human brains and makes us more stupid has been discovered, according to scientists in the US.

The algae virus, never before observed in healthy people, was found to affect cognitive functions including visual processing and spatial awareness.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical School and the University of Nebraska stumbled upon the discovery when they were undertaking an unrelated study into throat microbes.

Surprisingly, the researchers found DNA in the throats of healthy individuals that matched the DNA of a virus known to infect green algae.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/virus-that-makes-humans-more-stupid-discovered-9849920.html



Really looking forward to the responses to this...
42 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Virus that 'makes humans more stupid' discovered (Original Post) Turborama Nov 2014 OP
Republicanism is now a clinically diangnosed condition? Earth_First Nov 2014 #1
Why Do You Think They Want To Repeal ACA?..... global1 Nov 2014 #4
A terrorist origination did get their hands on this virus......... wandy Nov 2014 #20
They don't want to repeal the ACA J-Stone Nov 2014 #33
^^^This^^^ joshdawg Nov 2014 #26
That explains the election results. hobbit709 Nov 2014 #2
Is it people with a virus, or people with algae with a virus? nt bananas Nov 2014 #3
I really believe that most of the people at yuiyoshida Nov 2014 #5
Quarantine Fox! ReRe Nov 2014 #17
Quarantine the whole fucking country. Got to protect Europe and Asia. L0oniX Nov 2014 #30
Might I suggest we all invest in those companies cranking out Plucketeer Nov 2014 #22
No, they're just mercenaries. The people WATCHING Fox News are the infected. nt valerief Nov 2014 #37
Meh Android3.14 Nov 2014 #6
So that explains the Tea Party and UKIP voters? LeftishBrit Nov 2014 #7
It sure explains the ign'ants in the Southern swamp lands. Ampersand Unicode Nov 2014 #25
+1 SoapBox Nov 2014 #31
+1 lunasun Nov 2014 #28
Somebody test Inhofe STAT! blackspade Nov 2014 #8
It's the food and environmental monocultural society we've created. DeSwiss Nov 2014 #9
they should have wiped down the polling booths lame54 Nov 2014 #10
Vote GOP, Vote Green Algae? Vinca Nov 2014 #11
perhaps we should quarantine all repukes. nt Javaman Nov 2014 #12
Similar Results just us Nov 2014 #13
Irony: if we didn't know science, we wouldn't have found out about this Ampersand Unicode Nov 2014 #24
I thought that's where the U.S. was now. Have you listened to the GOP congress? nt valerief Nov 2014 #36
Correlation = causation. GeorgeGist Nov 2014 #14
It's not exactly ethical to take healthy people and infect them jeff47 Nov 2014 #15
The GOP was light years ahead of any virus with that idea nolabels Nov 2014 #16
Actually, we already have a protozoan that is associated with schizophrenia... Nitram Nov 2014 #18
Interesting. How is a protozoan assoc. w/ schiz. and what's the significance? appalachiablue Nov 2014 #38
Both are micro-organisms that can influence human behavior Nitram Nov 2014 #42
Is virus the new word for the msm ? father founding Nov 2014 #19
is it OK to eat seaweed? Helen Borg Nov 2014 #21
A simple cold makes me stupid... Helen Borg Nov 2014 #23
this virus was first discovered in George W. Bush. olddad56 Nov 2014 #27
So that's where Soylent Green came from (nt) minidriver Nov 2014 #29
totally explains SeaDoos nashville_brook Nov 2014 #32
Over here, we call it Fox News. nt valerief Nov 2014 #34
I think we should quarantine the place KinMd Nov 2014 #39
Actually this is fascinating Marrah_G Nov 2014 #35
So that explains the election of 2004. roamer65 Nov 2014 #40
The easiest way to tell a person is infected is by the brain slug sitting on their head. ThoughtCriminal Nov 2014 #41

global1

(25,253 posts)
4. Why Do You Think They Want To Repeal ACA?.....
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 08:24 AM
Nov 2014

They know that this will bankrupt our government if ACA covers it. With pre-existing conditions re-instated at least they can deny coverage.

Even a 21 day quarantine won't help. And heaven forbid if some terrorist gets a hold of the virus. An epidemic has been restrained for years and isolated primarily in southern states of the U.S. - but due to the lack of being able to keep people from traveling - there has been a slow and constant spread to major cities toward the north from east to west.

If a vaccine is not discovered soon this virus can infect all of the U.S. by 2016 and then we are really in trouble.

wandy

(3,539 posts)
20. A terrorist origination did get their hands on this virus.........
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 10:44 AM
Nov 2014

They call themselves Fox News.

J-Stone

(3 posts)
33. They don't want to repeal the ACA
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 12:40 PM
Nov 2014

Republican voters don't want to repeal the ACA. Many of them love it. They want to repeal Obamacare. Many of them have been asked if they like the ACA and they say it is much better than Obamacare. It is the man's name that makes it a bad idea.

 

Plucketeer

(12,882 posts)
22. Might I suggest we all invest in those companies cranking out
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 11:02 AM
Nov 2014

the protective gear used on the front lines of the Ebola battles! It's gonna take a shitload of these items to handle the situation in DC. And Gohmert! For god's sake someone quarantine that festering, sputtering primary carrier of this affliction!

 

Android3.14

(5,402 posts)
6. Meh
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 08:28 AM
Nov 2014

Small sample population and the article fails to mention how wide a difference and whether other factors may weigh in.

Ampersand Unicode

(503 posts)
25. It sure explains the ign'ants in the Southern swamp lands.
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 11:19 AM
Nov 2014

My mother thinks that the Southern heat is what's baked their brains.

Going on that theory, the same applies to the desert cons in Arizona like McCain, Brewer and Arpaio.

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
9. It's the food and environmental monocultural society we've created.
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 08:58 AM
Nov 2014
Humans’ bodies contain trillions of bacteria, viruses and fungi. Most are harmless, but the findings of this research show that there some microbes can have a detrimental impact on cognitive functions, while leaving individuals healthy.


- Our bodies are biological apparatuses which are designed to repair themselves if provided the proper nutrients and other materials in the correct proportions to do so. But our world is now bathed in chemicals our bodies were never intended to be exposed to. Chemicals that we shouldn't be touching, let alone consuming. And our food is likewise bathed in pesticides, fertilizers and other toxic chemicals, not to mention the unknowns of altering the DNA of plants to produce poisons for bugs that supposedly won't harm us. And whose plant RNA has later been found floating around looking for something to do in our livers, kidneys and pancreases. So to find algae DNA in our throats that makes people stupid shouldn't surprise us.

It's not the only thing making us stupid......

just us

(105 posts)
13. Similar Results
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 09:16 AM
Nov 2014

This algae works just like the right wing purge of civic education in our schools. We are told they need to only know math and language.

Ampersand Unicode

(503 posts)
24. Irony: if we didn't know science, we wouldn't have found out about this
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 11:17 AM
Nov 2014

We'd just go back to the same "diagnoses" of demonic possession and village-idiocy.

jeff47

(26,549 posts)
15. It's not exactly ethical to take healthy people and infect them
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 09:58 AM
Nov 2014

to see what happens. As a result, correlation is what we're left with. And it's how we've determined what the vast majority of human diseases do. For example, we haven't injected healthy people with HIV to prove it causes AIDS.

To get anything meaningful, we'd need a larger sample size - this study is just a reason to go gather that larger sample size.

nolabels

(13,133 posts)
16. The GOP was light years ahead of any virus with that idea
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 10:00 AM
Nov 2014

Then of course, the GOP could actually be a virus which would mean we are in a whole new dimension that we were not even aware of

Nitram

(22,825 posts)
18. Actually, we already have a protozoan that is associated with schizophrenia...
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 10:37 AM
Nov 2014

...and other neurological complications. Toxoplasma gondii infection has even been correlated with increased probability of being in a car accident.

 

father founding

(619 posts)
19. Is virus the new word for the msm ?
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 10:40 AM
Nov 2014

See Mitch, If it wasn't for Obamacare They wouldn't have found it in You.

ThoughtCriminal

(14,047 posts)
41. The easiest way to tell a person is infected is by the brain slug sitting on their head.
Mon Nov 10, 2014, 11:07 PM
Nov 2014


Or the McCain/Palin bumper sticker that's still on their car.
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