# Is there a disease that makes us love cats?

- Institution: TED
- Department: TED-Ed
- Speaker: Jaap de Roode
- Year: 2016
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Medicine and health, Psychology and the brain, Teaching and learning
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/jaap_de_roode_is_there_a_disease_that_makes_us_love_cats)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Today, about a third of the world’s population is infected with a strange disease called toxoplasmosis — and most of them never even know it. And while the parasite can multiply in practically any host, it can only reproduce sexually in the intestines of cats. Could this disease be the reason so many people love cats and keep them as pets? Jaap de Roode shares what we know about toxoplasmosis. \[Directed by Anton Bogaty, narrated by Addison Anderson\].

## Lectures

1. [Is there a disease that makes us love cats?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/jaap_de_roode_is_there_a_disease_that_makes_us_love_cats/db0d3d570ded), 5 min (TED's player)