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A comment on Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless around lions. Parent comment

Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by ptha on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @05:00AM (#27745756)
The article described something specific that could be tested. I leave it to the scientist to design a similarly specific experiment for humans. Also the "reckless" behaviour exhibited by the cubs disappeared after there were older than 1 year:

While uninfected cubs stayed an average of 300 feet away from lions, cubs that had Toxoplasma antibodies in their blood had ventured within an average of 142 feet from the predators, a dangerous proximity. These differences disappeared after the cubs turned one, perhaps because the survivors learned not to get too close to the felines.

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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by trhway on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @05:15AM (#27745866)
so those infected survivors got much closer than the healthy ones and yet survived. Sounds like a [harsh] filter for the high survivability traits which may be beneficial for the population, and that may explain why the [susceptibility to the] infection hasn't been selected out.
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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by eru on Monday July 12, 2021 @07:29AM (#27809204)
> [...] which may be beneficial for the population, [...]

Do keep in mind that evolution mostly works on the level of genes, and perhaps individuals. It doesn't really work on the level of the population.

See eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection

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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by Retric on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @09:58AM (#27748610)
Possibly, but luck isn’t an inheritable trait.
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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by sitkack on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @10:16AM (#27748902)
It is in humans.
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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by rfreytag on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @10:47AM (#27749344)
... according to Larry Niven.
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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by sitkack on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @05:31PM (#27754557)
And Rockefeller, Cargil, Rothschild ...
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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by eru on Monday July 12, 2021 @07:29AM (#27809209)
What makes you think there was inherited luck involved?

People make their own 'luck'.

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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by sitkack on Tuesday July 13, 2021 @09:15AM (#27820536)
Luck and Inherited Luck are different things.
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Re:Mind-controlling parasite makes hyena cubs more reckless ... by eru on Saturday July 17, 2021 @04:44AM (#27864448)
Yes.
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