Today's BBC tells of how some species of animals, when infected by a parasitical organism, modify their behaviour in order to further accommodate the desires of the predator. For example, toxoplasma gondii, when present in a mouse or rat, somehow manages to override the rodent's natural behaviour: instead of lurking in the shadows the mouse develops an insatiable desire for the odour of cat urine and it's behaviour becomes "reckless", allowing far more opportunities for the mouse to be captured and eaten by a feline which, in all essence, is the desire of the parasite for it requires a cat-family host in order to sexually reproduce.
Old stamp, note crown topped Star of David inlaid with "Red Hand" |
The article concludes :
We know, for example, that people who have antibodies to toxoplasma are more than twice as likely to be involved in a traffic accident. It could be that the parasite is making us, like rodents, behave in a more reckless fashion. Research also suggests it may slow down reaction times, with the intention of making us more vulnerable to large predators. Either way it is a chilling thought that parasites may be influencing how we behave in ways we do not yet begin to understand.
Back in the '50's, '60's and '70's, the C.I.A. carried out psychological experiments on human behaviour in a project called MK Ultra. Some people believe that the project is still being carried out, perhaps under the moniker Project Monarch, and that "brainwashed", "mind-controlled" subjects are in abundance, waiting to be manipulated in the manner of a parasite's host.
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4 comments:
http://www.futuremagazine.net
Parasites that alter our behaviour - Google search ,
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Always good to have people reminded about Project Monarch. On Flickr there are lots of family photos suggesting Monarch mind control.
- Aangirfan
evolutionaryeconomics.wordpress.com/economic-idol-ogy-vs-science/a-biological-science-of-economics/world-stock-the-government/company-mothers-the-superorganisms-of-machines/google-earth/
sorry for last comment, wrong address.
Anyhow its about Google and its burgeoning robotics programme
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Thanks aferrismoon, I got some good info from the google search you suggested, an interesting Telegraph article friom last year on the subject.
Aangirfan, thanks, I was tempted to write more about Monarch but time is always a problem for me. It does seem to be a "family affair" though.
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