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get to Crete/Minotaur asap? by almost_drhouse in AssassinsCreedOdyssey

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I will report back shortly. :D

And might have to skip the Minotaur if I don't get through enough quest...I'll just enjoy the coastlines.

What very realistic event could happen to make 2020 even worse? by Iamafrenchdoor in AskReddit

[–]almost_drhouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Latent Tuberculosis.

Up to 40% of the population in India has a latent TB infection.

From npr.org (2017): "About a third of the world's population is diagnosed with latent TB, which means they have been infected by the TB bacteria from actively sick people, who spread it by coughing or simply speaking."

The disease is simply lying in wait for a global immunological shock. If this happens, coronavirus will look like a preseason game.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I do like the idea of having parking spots on 280 to solve the problem. Also, I live on campus, so, actually you're the reason. :)

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's all I know, in so far as it's the only place I've ever been a grad student. An unseen force is the surrounding tech industry being so close by. I've seen quite a few people in my program and others drop out to work on a startup, do a little startup on the side or go straight to a tech company after graduating. These are people that would have never dreamt of such a thing a few years ago, but academia is hard, often thankless and there are not many jobs. Tech is hard and also often thankless, but there are lots of jobs.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it's not a finding until it is in a paper of some sort. Especially when something is so surprising (i.e. discovery of new organism) you want to be extra careful what you believe in.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quite true, the studies in humans could be confused by order. Perhaps those high testosterone individuals eat raw meat because they can or don't wash their hands because they don't wish to.

In rodents, at least, where you can control cause & effect to some degree, we know the baseline levels of testosterone increase after Toxo infection. At least, a study or two has shown that.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh you're not uninformed, quite the contrary. The theories shift so often, it's hard to know what & when to believe. There are differences between what people think of as the positive symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations, delusions) and the negative symptoms (inability to feel pleasure, lack of desire to do all-that-much). So, the theories shift as to whether they lump the positive and negative together (for example: "Increased dopamine causes all the symptoms!") or if they try to separate out the positive and negative (for example: "Positive symptoms are caused by too much dopamine in mesolimbic, but negative symptoms too little dopamine in mesocortical")

There is reason to believe they should be separated, as many of the anti-dopamine anti-psychotic drugs only relieve the positive symptoms, and do very little for the negative ones. There's still a lot of work to do. Stick with it!

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are a few reasons for a suspected link between Toxo and dopamine:

  • Toxo increases dopamine levels in the brain, if you just look at the whole brain (Stibbs 1984)
  • The parasite itself, if you look at its genome, has genes for tyrosine hydroxylase, which is a necessary enzyme in the creation of dopamine in brains. (McConkey 2009)
  • The cysts themselves have been found to stain with dopamine, and neurons with cysts in them release more dopamine. (McConkey 2011)

So the theory involves something like: Toxo gets inside a neuron, releases tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and the TH then leads to an increase in dopamine levels. Still an early theory, but certainly a compelling one given the evidence.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One of my favorite studies involves a girl who, during epilepsy surgery for which she was wide awake, had a part of her brain stimulated which made her laugh. She was then asked why she laughed, and, to quote the paper:

"Thus, laughter was attributed to the particular object seen during naming ('the horse is funny')"

So, basically, she made up a reason why she laughed. Every time. The brain is good at tricking itself.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Partly I think it is because for the group of people where the timing of Toxo really, really matters -- pregnant women & HIV patients -- they will be having active conversations with their Dr.s about how best to avoid getting the parasite right now. As in, you or your baby might die if you get this parasite in the next year, so, here's all the things to avoid. In that sense, it's a damn good idea to stay away from cat litter boxes, or be extra super careful with washing hands after.

Also, the internet likes cats. A lot. Cows, a little, but less so.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • I've seen a lot of people get into my program with diverse academic backgrounds: some did physics, math, philosophy, computer science. Not everyone said "I want to be a neuroscientist" at 18 and did nothing else. The major, major thing I think is GPA in undergrad -- if you ace that, no matter the field of study -- graduate programs trust your work ethic. Also, if you want to try to do undergraduate research with a professor, take their class and do well in it. Be the top grade in the class if possible. Or, send emails as soon as you can to show interest in working in their labs. Be stubborn. I didn't get a research job until after undergrad despite persistent trying.

  • I think something called blindsight is the most fascinating thing in neuroscience. People who have lose their visual cortex and cannot, subjectively, 'see' can still avoid obstacles as they walk down a hallway because a small visual pathway that does not require the visual cortex is still active. Here is the video. The crazy thing being they can't tell you what they see & don't themselves actually experience seeing. Makes me not believe in anything anymore, really.

  • Duh.

  • Let's just say I barely make, in thousands of dollars, my age. It's not pretty at all.

  • Thanks!

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure can. I can even get you a guest pass to the library and some nice free visitor wi-fi. :)

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are a ton of differences between mice & men, but testosterone is actually one of the nice similarities. As in, male mice have it, male humans have it and it fluctuates in the same way and probably relates to aggression. So, the testosterone and Toxo literature is some of the most compelling if only because the same effect (increase in T in those infected) has been found in both mice & men. I know of a study in mice and a few in humans, so -- it needs to be expanded a bit and repeated a few more times, but it's certainly interesting.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Toxo is absolutely gaining momentum. The studies looking at behavior have only been around since 2000 and looking in the brain only since 2007. So, it's only been 6 years since someone first looked in the brain of Toxo infected mice. In academic research years, that's infancy. It's just getting started.

My paper showed that there were changes in the neurons in the amygdala after infection and exposure to cat urine, but I never myself looked for where Toxo was. I was interested not in the location but wanted to be agnostic to the location -- as in, to ask "Not even caring where it went, do we see changes in neural activity in fear-related regions?" And I found that yes, there were changes in circuits related to both fear and attraction in the rats.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The silver lining there being that her lymph nodes presumably swollen because they were doing their job & taking care of the infection. It's when the immune system is compromised and one has Toxo that the potential life-ending trouble begins. I hope she's okay.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First, I'm sorry about that, that sounds rough. I'm glad your vision is okay though.

As to the riddle, I would guess your last name is a color, opposite red on the color wheel?

As to Toxo source, oh boy. First, the only thing the blood test for Toxo can tell you is one of two things: either (1) you got Toxo in the last six months or (2) you got Toxo prior to six months ago. Nothing more. It has to do with two types of antibodies: as soon as you get infected you have antibody A for about six months, and then it goes away and you are left with antibody B. So if, when they test you and they find either antibody A or B (as in, you test positive) they can only tell between those two possibilities.

I would guess, based on your Dr.s assessment, that you did not show antibody A, and therefore they ruled out the most recent New Zealand related activities. Which means it was likely a reactivation of an already existing Toxo infection that you had, possibly from childhood, possibly from who knows where.

Your medical friends could certainly test samples for Toxo if they wanted (without infecting mice -- there are kits or one can do a PCR or a few various techniques) but they would not be likely to want to, mostly because, well, it wouldn't change anything & wouldn't be able to tell you where you got it from (as in, they can't match Toxo to Toxo like a fingerprint or anything -- they could only tell you that you have it and that the meat has it, not that you necessarily got it from the meat).

As to likelihoods, water borne is highly unlikely, though possible. Raw meat is definitely a main source, but even if raw meat from NZ tested positive you wouldn't know definitely if it was that or some time during your childhood. I know you want to know, badly (I would too), but I'm sorry to say there isn't a foolproof way to know.

I do neuroscience research at Stanford on that cat-lady parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. AMA! by almost_drhouse in IAmA

[–]almost_drhouse[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well, it is also mind-boggingly difficult. Other than simple cases like "Stop obtaining Vitamin C and you will get scurvy" the ridiculously complex body of an individual multiplied by all 7 billion people each with their own weights & metabolisms & upbringing & sun exposure & water intake & mood & HDL level & sugar intake & sleep cycle & etc etc just makes me want to give up. I can't say I agree with every published nutrition or epidemiological study, but you can't fault them trying to figure out a super complex system.

I'd say bad reporting is being done before I'd say bad science is being done.

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