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Researchers at the John Hopkins Medical School and the University of Nebraska have discovered a virus that infects our brains and "makes us more stupid."

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, researchers describe coming across the virus by chance, while conducting a different study altogether into throat microbes.


Throughout the research, it was found that the DNA in the throats of healthy individuals matched the DNA of a virus (ACTV-1), which usually infects green algae.

The algae virus, which was discovered by these researchers, was previously thought to be harmless to humans. However, it has now been found to affect human cognitive capabilities, including our assessment of spatial awareness and visual processing.

When researchers analysed the throats of 92 study participants, they discovered that the ACTV-1 virus was present in 44 percent of them. Compared to those without ACTV-1, those infected performed worse in tests geared to measure attention spans and visual processing.

The findings of this study reveal that some microbes can have harmful affects on human cognition, while leaving individuals physically unharmed. However, as researchers are not yet sure of how ATCV-1 infects humans, there will be no need to avoid fresh water or lakes where green algae might be found.