A parasite that makes rodents unafraid of cats could be giving people the courage to become entrepreneurs, researchers told NBC News.
People infected with Toxoplasma gondii were more likely to have majored in business and started their own business, according to a new paper published by University of Colorado management professor Stefanie Johnson and colleagues in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
People get the T. gondii parasite from handling cat droppings or eating poorly cooked meat. It's already linked to a greater risk of "car accidents, mental illness, neuroticism, drug abuse and suicide," according to the paper.
Johnson said she plans on studying the parasite further, to see "if all the businesses started by toxoplasma-positive people fail," among other things.
