It is not clear how, but in an ‘intriguing parasitic strategy’, the parasitic Nematomorph hairworm ‘hijacks’ the brain of the grasshoppers and crickets inside which it grows when it is time for it to transform into an aquatic adult. The worm produces proteins which directly affect its insect host’s CNS to make the land-dwelling host behave in ways it would never ordinarily do, by seeking out and plunging into water. This allows the mature hairworm to emerge and swim away to find a mate, leaving the insect host dead or dying in the water. (New Scientist) I know, not everything is a political parable, but although it is certainly a fascinating story in its own right, it it also an apt description of what the parasites in the White House are doing to the body of the U.S.