Scientists pinpoint virus that 'makes us stupid'

The virus which affects cognitive abilities of healthy human beings, making them more stupid has been found.

According to scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical School and the University of Nebraska, the algae virus, which has been observed for the very time in healthy people, affects cognitive functions including visual processing and spatial awareness, the Independent reported. The researchers also found that the DNA in the throats of healthy people, matched the DNA of a virus known to infect green algae.

Dr Robert Yolken, who led the original study, said that it showed that the 'innocuous' microorganisms carried by humans could affect behaviour and cognition.

The study was conducted on 90 participants, out which 40 tested positive for the algae virus. The one's who tested positive performed poorly on tests designed to measure the speed and accuracy of visual processing, and also got lower scores in tasks designed to measure attention.

The study's findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.