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Jaroslav Flegr

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Jaroslav Flegr
Born (1958-03-12) 12 March 1958 (age 66)[1]
Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech republic)
NationalityCzech
Known forresearch into toxoplasmosis
AwardsIg Nobel Prize in Public Health (2014)
Scientific career
FieldsParasitology
InstitutionsCharles University in Prague

Jaroslav Flegr is a professor of biology at Charles University in Prague.[2] He is a parasitologist, evolutionary biologist, the author of the book Frozen Evolution[3] and member of the editorial board of Neuroendocrinology Letters.[4]

His work on the influence of toxoplasmosis infection on personality,[5] sex ratios,[6] and the risks of road accidents,[7][8] has received some media attention,[9][10] with the work on road accidents being particularly prominent. Flegr has claimed that the infection might increase the number of accidents by as much as one million crashes per year.[11][12][13]

Frozen Evolution

His book Frozen Evolution is a science popularization book that aims to achieve three distinct goals. First, it presents the reader with the principles of current evolutionary biology. Second, the book contains sidenotes in graphically distinct boxes that discuss topics important in practitioning of science. These are for example peer review process, scientific journals or citation metrics. Some ideas from philosophy of science like paradigm shift and Occam's razor are also mentioned, as is some Flegr's previous research to provide concrete examples. The third and final goal is materialized in concluding chapters that propose the author's idea of frozen plasticity, a new hypothesis that describes a mechanism for the origin of adaptive traits. He claims that natural selection can only explain the evolution of such adaptations under very special situations: e.g., in genetically homogeneous populations of sexual organisms or in asexual organisms. He describes the idea of "frozen plasticity" as being more general, and contends that it can better explain the origin and evolution of adaptive traits in genetically heterogeneous population of sexual organisms.[14] Flegr's ideas expressed in this part of the book are extensions on the punctuated equilibria hypothesis.

Personal life

Flegr is married and has two children as well as two cats.[15]

Bibliography (partial)

  • Jaroslav Flegr (2008). Frozen Evolution: Or, that's not the way it is, Mr. Darwin - Farewell to selfish gene. Prague: Charles University, Faculty of Science. ISBN 80-86561-73-9. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help) (Czech version only in print)
  • Jaroslav Flegr (2009). Mechanisms of Evolution. Prague: Academia. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help) (Czech version only in print)
  • Jaroslav Flegr and Jan Havlicek. Folia Parasitologica , Changes in personality profile of young women with latent toxoplasmosis, vol. 46, 1999, pp. 22-28. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)


References

  1. ^ http://www.academia.cas.cz/autori/jaroslav-flegr.html
  2. ^ Jaroslav Flegr University website
  3. ^ Hall, B.K. (2009). "A review of Frozen Evolution: Or That's Not the Way It is, Mr. Darwin, edited by Jaroslav Flegr". Evolution & Development. 11 (1): 126–129. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2008.00310.x. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  4. ^ Board of Editors Neuroendocrinology Letters website
  5. ^ Flegr J (May 2007). "Effects of Toxoplasma on Human Behavior". Schizophr Bull. 33 (3): 757–60. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbl074. PMC 2526142. PMID 17218612.
  6. ^ Kanková S, Sulc J, Nouzová K, Fajfrlík K, Frynta D, Flegr J (February 2007). "Women infected with parasite Toxoplasma have more sons". Naturwissenschaften. 94 (2): 122–7. doi:10.1007/s00114-006-0166-2. PMID 17028886.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Flegr J, Havlícek J, Kodym P, Malý M, Smahel Z (July 2002). "Increased risk of traffic accidents in subjects with latent toxoplasmosis: a retrospective case-control study". BMC Infect. Dis. 2: 11. doi:10.1186/1471-2334-2-11. PMC 117239. PMID 12095427.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  8. ^ Flegr J, Klose J, Novotná M, Berenreitterová M, Havlícek J (2009). "Increased incidence of traffic accidents in Toxoplasma-infected military drivers and protective effect RhD molecule revealed by a large-scale prospective cohort study". BMC Infect. Dis. 9: 72. doi:10.1186/1471-2334-9-72. PMC 2692860. PMID 19470165.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  9. ^ Catherine Price. "Want a boy? Change the kitty litter". Salon.com. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  10. ^ Adam, David (25 September 2003). "Can a parasite carried by cats change your personality?". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Cat bug link to 1m crashes". Edinburgh: Scotsman.com. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  12. ^ "Czech scientists make unique finding on Rh factor effect". Prague Monitor. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  13. ^ Caroline Davis. "Times Higher Education - Findings: 'Harmless' bug may be killer". Times Higher Education Supplement. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  14. ^ FrozenEvolution.com
  15. ^ [1]
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