Scientists Find Hidden Diversity Inside Common Brain Parasite The Toxoplasma gondii parasite, often called the "cat parasite," infects roughly one in three people worldwide, lurking quietly in the brain and muscles for years without causing noticeable symptoms in most healthy individuals. For decades, scientists believed that during this chronic phase, the parasite simply goes dormant inside tiny protective cysts essentially "sleeping" to evade the immune system. A major new study published in January 2026 in…

What if Toxoplasma gondii cysts aren’t dormant at all?
A new 2026 Nature Communications study reveals brain cysts are active hubs with multiple parasite subtypes—explaining drug failure and dangerous reactivation in immunocompromised patients.

#Microbiology #Toxoplasmosis #Parasites #ScienceN