A virus that infects human brains and
affects people’s intelligence have
been discovered by American
scientists. Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical
School and the University of Nebraska
stumbled upon the surprise discovery
when undertaking an unrelated
study into throat microbes.

The team
discovered that DNA present in the throats of healthy individuals was the
same as that of the algae virus. The algae virus has never before

been observed in healthy people and
was discovered to affect cognitive
functions such as visual processing
and spatial awareness.

Of the 90 participants in the study, 40
tested positive for the algae.

Later it
was discovered that hose who had
tested positive performed worse on
tests that were designed to measure
visual processing and attention spans.

The study was led by Dr Robert
Yolken, a virologist, who said:

“This is
a striking example showing that the
“innocuous” microorganisms we
carry can affect behaviour and
cognition. Many physiological differences
between person A and person B are
encoded in the set of genes each
inherits from parents, yet some of
these differences are fuelled by the
various microorganisms we harbour and the way they interact with our
genes.”

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.

What the hell is an algae virus?