New Scientist: The world’s most successful bug hits dolphins

How does a parasite found in kitty litter get into whales and dolphins? By hitching a ride down the sewage pipe and into anchovy guts, say researchers.

Gloeta Massie and Michael Black of California Polytechnic State University say this could explain why one of the most prevalent parasites in humans is now popping up in marine mammals. They presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Microbiology Society on Monday.

"Toxoplasma gondii is the most successful protozoan pathogen on the planet," says Michael Grigg of the US National Institutes of Health. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that nearly one in four people aged 12 or older in the US have been infected with the parasite.

This is another great example how little we often about the consequences about our actions. Nature is a complex system and even small & stupid acts can have serious consequences.

A lot of science is "wasted" by finding out these often destructive connections and their consequences.

Wikipedia says that there are currently 7.500 different types of Apples. One would think that’s a lot, especially since most super markets only offer three or five different brands (how many can you name from memory?). According to some articles / sources we had over 10.000 or even 20.000 varieties not just a hundred years ago.

The problem of loosing bio diversity is very serious. Some varieties have genes that might withstand a new illness or virus that threatens a specific plant or animal.

Sounds to scientific to you? Just remember that we still don’t know what is killing bees in such huge numbers in the US and Europe. if we would loose some more bees plant pollination would be insufficient and food production would be greatly reduced. Hanger and starvation would be result for man and animals.

Another example: lets say a new fungus develops that kills most of the rice crops in Asia. A huge famine would be the result.

So we need bio diversity to ensure that some plants and animals are resistant to some threats - so we can cross breeds these species with weaker ones.

Every species and variety we loose is a direct threat to our own survival.