Testosterone key to disease transmission
8/8/08
High levels of testosterone may be a key factor in spreading disease among mice, according to biologists. The findings could help explain why males in a population are often more likely to get infected, and transmit disease. "We know that testosterone makes males more susceptible to disease," said Daniel Grear, Penn State doctoral student in ecology. "We wanted to find out if it impacts their behavior as well and how that increases their ability to transmit disease."