Khoruts gave me a memorable example of how behavior can be covertly manipulated by microorganisms. The parasite Toxoplasma infects rats but needs to make its way into a cat's gut to reproduce. The parasite's strategy for achieving this goal is to alter the rat brain such that the rodent is now attracted to cat urine. Rat walks right up to cat, gets killed, eaten. If you saw the events unfold, Khoruts continued, you'd scratch your head and go, What is wrong with that rat? Then he smiled. Do you think Republicans have different flora?
Khoruts provided an intriguing illustration of how microorganisms can subtly influence behavior. He discussed the parasite Toxoplasma, which infects rats but must ultimately reach a cat to reproduce. To achieve this, the parasite manipulates the rat's brain, making it attracted to cat urine, thus leading the rat to approach a cat where it can be killed and consumed.
This example prompts us to question the rat's behavior; it appears irrational from our perspective. Khoruts humorously connects this idea to human behavior, suggesting that differences in gut flora, influenced by factors such as diet or environment, could similarly shape behaviors in humans, including political affiliations.
