One in Three People Carry This Brain Parasite but the Body Has a Kill Switch

1 in 3 people catch a cat-linked brain parasite. This trick stops it

The incurable bug is linked to eye damage and possibly mental issues such as bipolar. Here’s how to avoid it.

One in three people carry this brain parasite but the body has a kill switch

A parasite that may already be hiding in your brain has a shocking survival trick: it can infect the very immune cells sent to destroy it. Yet most people never get sick, and new research from UVA Health reveals why. Scientists discovered that when Toxoplasma gondii invades CD8+ T cells — key defenders of the immune system — those cells can trigger a self-destruct mechanism powered by an enzyme called caspase-8. By sacrificing themselves, the in…