{"id":15294,"date":"2022-08-13T05:14:48","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T05:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/?p=15294"},"modified":"2022-08-13T05:14:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T05:14:52","slug":"can-a-virus-make-you-smarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/can-a-virus-make-you-smarter\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a virus make you smarter?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_twitter_via = \"datebytype\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"datebytype\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Can a virus make you smarter?\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-rh-negative-blog\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"mbz1ImP3Pn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/what-is-your-iq-and-do-you-have-toxoplasmosis\/\">What is your IQ? (&#8230; and do you have Toxoplasmosis?)<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;What is your IQ? (&#8230; and do you have Toxoplasmosis?)&#8221; &#8212; The Rh Negative Blog\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/what-is-your-iq-and-do-you-have-toxoplasmosis\/embed\/#?secret=kpaV37T7u1#?secret=mbz1ImP3Pn\" data-secret=\"mbz1ImP3Pn\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p> Cytomegalovirus is a genus of viruses in the order Herpesvirales, in the family Herpesviridae, in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae. Humans and monkeys serve as natural hosts. The 11 species in this genus include human betaherpesvirus 5, which is the species that infects humans.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/evoandproud.blogspot.com\/2022\/05\/a-virus-that-increases-intelligence-and.html\">https:\/\/evoandproud.blogspot.com\/2022\/05\/a-virus-that-increases-intelligence-and.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEh2DNolSAdN_ekkxqpsGi7ez1_dzB9w_AkdL6d77sA-ZJDqHFRocO2-e5E3PwcP0EznHdJrcTlojZWRY-ZGkQ-bXuMU3FrI3PAUBxCvLIQMmAZ8pHxsqTTLgGzRoxMUWSRiTfTPwq_fHT22dS2lCn0UDtJYAzPl1JybATd82Nkrjp4TiOGJd20aHp5x_Q\/s443\/baculoviridae%2520infected%2520caterpillar.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEh2DNolSAdN_ekkxqpsGi7ez1_dzB9w_AkdL6d77sA-ZJDqHFRocO2-e5E3PwcP0EznHdJrcTlojZWRY-ZGkQ-bXuMU3FrI3PAUBxCvLIQMmAZ8pHxsqTTLgGzRoxMUWSRiTfTPwq_fHT22dS2lCn0UDtJYAzPl1JybATd82Nkrjp4TiOGJd20aHp5x_Q\/w159-h400\/baculoviridae%2520infected%2520caterpillar.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Caterpillar infected by baculovirus, before liquefaction (Wikicommons, Williams et al. 2017)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Higher IQ is associated with antibodies to cytomegalovirus, but only in adults whose IQ is already above a certain level. Which is the cause, and which is the effect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cytomegalovirus (CMV) belongs to the herpes family and is spread by contact with bodily fluids. Around 45 to 100% of the population may be infected, although most hosts are unaware that they are infected. It has one of the largest genomes among human viruses, a sign perhaps of its ability to manipulate its host:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With millions of years of coevolution within their hosts, CMVs, like other herpesviruses, encode numerous proteins that can broadly influence the magnitude and quality of both innate and adaptive immune responses. These viral proteins include both homologues of host proteins, such as MHC class I or chemokine homologues, and proteins with little similarity to any other known proteins, such as the chemokine binding protein. Although a strong immune response is launched against CMV, these virally encoded proteins can interfere with the host&#8217;s ability to efficiently recognize and clear virus, while others induce or alter specific immune responses to benefit viral replication or spread within the host.&nbsp;(Miller-Kittreall and Sparer 2009)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CMV infection at birth leads to mental retardation (Andreou et al. 2021). Recently, however, it has been shown that infection later in life can lead to higher IQ. This is one of three findings from a Norwegian study on IQ and antibodies to CMV in adults. The study showed that CMV seropositivity was significantly associated with higher IQ in men who suffered from bipolar spectrum disorders and with lower IQ in women who suffered from schizophrenia spectrum disorders. CMV seropositivity was not associated with IQ in healthy controls (Andreou et al. 2021). The study\u2019s authors were at a loss to explain the association between CMV seropositivity and higher IQ in bipolar men, all the more so because the number of bipolar men was small, only 35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An association between CMV and IQ has now been found in healthy individuals. A Czech study has shown that IQ, especially verbal IQ, is higher in people with antibodies to CMV. Moreover, the IQ advantage decreases with decreasing levels of CMV antibodies, i.e., with increasing time since the CMV infection (Chvat\u00e1lova et al. 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why do healthy Czechs show this association but not healthy Norwegians? It\u2019s not because the Czechs were a larger sample. In fact, the Czech sample had 283 healthy individuals, and the Norwegian sample 474. The two samples did differ, however, in educational attainment. The Czechs were biology students at a university in Prague, whereas the Norwegians were randomly recruited from the Norwegian population register. The latter were also described as \u201cCaucasians\u201d living in Oslo. Oslo\u2019s population is almost one third of immigrant origin, with Pakistanis forming the largest immigrant group. There are also large numbers of people from Sri Lanka, Turkey, Morocco, and Iraq (Wikipedia 2022).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last point would not be problematic if cognitive evolution had ended long ago among the common ancestors of Europeans, Middle Easterners, and South Asians. There is mounting evidence, however, for cognitive evolution in recent times. Ashkenazi Jews seem to have gained their cognitive advantage during the past 1,000 or so years, and the same seems to be true for the Parsis (Cochran et al. 2006; Dunkel et al. 2019; Frost 2021). There is even evidence for significant cognitive evolution in communities that are not normally thought of as ethnic groups, such as French Canadians in regions where British and American traders were historically few in number (Frost 2012).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why does CMV seropositivity correlate with higher IQ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The authors of the Czech study suggest that more intelligent people have more social contacts and are thus more likely to catch the virus: \u201cwe suggest that more intelligent subjects who have more social and sexual contacts\u2014CMV is transmitted by close contacts, e.g. by kissing\u2014might have a higher risk of encountering a CMV infection.\u201d Yet there is no evidence that smarter people are more extraverted. In fact, they tend to be loners, if only because they have fewer people of their intellectual level to hang out with. The academic consensus seems to be that neither introversion nor extraversion correlates with intelligence (Saklofske and Kostura 1990).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Could the arrow of causality run in the other direction? Is it possible that CMV makes its host smarter? The authors reject that explanation because congenital CMV infection reduces intelligence. But maybe the effect is different in adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If CMV does increase the intelligence of adult hosts, the effect would be confined to those whose IQ is already above a certain level. The above two studies showed a significant increase only among university students, and not in a more mixed population with varying levels of educational attainment. But why did the latter study show significantly higher IQ in men with bipolar disorders and significantly lower IQ in women with schizophrenia? For the answer, we can turn to the results of a recent genome-wide association study: most of the alleles for schizophrenia are associated with lower intelligence, and most of the alleles for bipolar disorder are associated with higher intelligence (Smeland et al. 2020). Those results are partially confirmed by the findings of a prospective cohort study: \u201cat least in men, high intelligence may indeed be a risk factor for bipolar disorder, but only in the minority of cases who have the disorder in a pure form with no psychiatric comorbidity\u201d (Gale et al. 2013).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Behavior alteration?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why would a virus try to make its host smarter? What would it gain? Perhaps the increase in intelligence is a side-effect. Perhaps the virus is trying to improve its chances of spreading to new hosts by altering the behavior of its current host (Cochran et al. 2000; Frost 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although behavior is more often altered by larger and more complex pathogens, particularly fungi, there are many viruses that engage in behavior alteration. For example, viruses from the&nbsp;<em>baculoviridae<\/em>&nbsp;family will infect a caterpillar and make it hyperactive to spread their viral progeny over a wider area. Or the caterpillar will be made to climb to the top of a plant and dissolve itself through overproduction of enzymes, thus becoming a mass of tasty goo for ingestion by potential hosts (Han et al. 2015; Williams et al. 2017). Rabies is another behavior-altering virus: it makes its host more aggressive and thus more likely to bite potential hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although CMV infects a wide range of people, it seems to target a smaller subgroup for behavior alteration, i.e., individuals with intelligence above a certain threshold, and men more than women. If we look at the epidemiological data, we see that male homosexuals are especially susceptible. A study at a venereal disease clinic found that antibodies to CMV were present in 94% of the male homosexual patients and 54% of the male heterosexual patients. \u201cThe data suggest that sexual transmission is an important mode of spread of CMV among adults and that homosexual men are at greater risk for CMV infections than are heterosexual men\u201d (Drew et al. 1981).&nbsp;Another study has identified passive anal sex as the most effective means of transmission: \u201cOf seven sexual practices investigated, only passive anal-genital intercourse correlated with the acquisition of cytomegalovirus infection (p&nbsp;=0.008)\u201d (Mintz et al. 1983).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which is the cause and which is the effect? Does passive anal sex facilitate CMV infection? Or does CMV infection facilitate the desire for passive anal sex? The answer may be \u2018yes\u2019 to both questions. Sometimes \u2018the cause\u2019 and \u2018the effect\u2019 are two sides of the same coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This virus may indeed be the \u2018gay germ\u2019 that Greg Cochran has written about. Or one of them. Male homosexuality probably has several causes, and the microbial cause probably involves more than one pathogen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andreou, D., K.N. J\u00f8rgensen, L.A. Wortinger, K. Engen, A. Vaskinn, T. Ueland, R.H. Yolken, O.A. Andreassen, and I. Agartz. (2021). Cytomegalovirus infection and IQ in patients with severe mental illness and healthy individuals.&nbsp;<em>Psychiatry Research<\/em>&nbsp;300:113929.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.psychres.2021.113929\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.psychres.2021.113929<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chvat\u00e1lov\u00e1, V., B. \u0160eb\u00e1nkov\u00e1, H. Hrb\u00e1\u010dkov\u00e1, P. Ture\u010dek, L. P\u0159\u00edplatov\u00e1, and J. Flegr. (2022). Differences in cognitive performance between cytomegalovirus-infected and cytomegalovirus-free students.&nbsp;<em>PsyArXiv<\/em>, 5 May 2022.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.31234\/osf.io\/jbvky\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.31234\/osf.io\/jbvky<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cochran, G.M., P.W. Ewald, and K.D. Cochran. (2000). Infectious Causation of Disease: An Evolutionary Perspective.&nbsp;<em>Perspectives in Biology and Medicine<\/em>&nbsp;43 (3): 406-48.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1353\/pbm.2000.0016\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1353\/pbm.2000.0016<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cochran, G., J. Hardy, and H. Harpending. (2006). Natural history of Ashkenazi intelligence.&nbsp;<em>Journal of Biosocial Science<\/em>&nbsp;38: 659-693,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S0021932005027069\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S0021932005027069<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drew, W.L., L. Mintz, R.C. Miner, M. Sands, and B. Ketterer. (1981). Prevalence of Cytomegalovirus Infection in Homosexual Men.&nbsp;<em>The Journal of Infectious Diseases<\/em>&nbsp;143(2): 188\u2013192.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/infdis\/143.2.188\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/infdis\/143.2.188<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dunkel, C.S., M.A. Woodley of Menie, J. Pallesen, and E.O.W. Kirkegaard. (2019). Polygenic scores mediate the Jewish phenotypic advantage in educational attainment and cognitive ability compared with Catholics and Lutherans.&nbsp;<em>Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences<\/em>&nbsp;13(4): 366-375.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/ebs0000158\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/ebs0000158<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frost, P. (2012). Tay-Sachs and French Canadians: A case of gene-culture co-evolution?&nbsp;<em>Advances in Anthropology<\/em>&nbsp;2(3): 132-138.&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.4236\/aa.2012.23016\">http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.4236\/aa.2012.23016<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frost, P. (2020). Are Fungal Pathogens Manipulating Human Behavior? Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 63(4): 591-601.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1353\/pbm.2020.0059\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1353\/pbm.2020.0059<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frost, P. (2021). Commentary on Fuerst et al: Do Human Populations Differ in Their Mental Characteristics?&nbsp;<em>Mankind Quarterly<\/em>&nbsp;62(2).&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/doi.org\/10.46469\/mq.2021.62.2.9\">http:\/\/doi.org\/10.46469\/mq.2021.62.2.9<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gale, C., G. Batty, A. McIntosh.&nbsp;et al.&nbsp;(2013). Is bipolar disorder more common in highly intelligent people? A cohort study of a million men.&nbsp;<em>Molecular Psychiatry<\/em>&nbsp;18:&nbsp;190\u2013194.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/mp.2012.26\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/mp.2012.26<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Han, Y., S. van Houte, G.R. Drees, M.M. van Oers, and V.I. Ros. (2015). Parasitic Manipulation of Host Behaviour: Baculovirus SeMNPV EGT Facilitates Tree-Top Disease in Spodoptera exigua Larvae by Extending the Time to Death.&nbsp;<em>Insects<\/em>&nbsp;6(3): 716\u2013731.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/insects6030716\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/insects6030716<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Miller-Kittrell, M., and T.E. Sparer. (2009). Feeling manipulated: cytomegalovirus immune manipulation.&nbsp;<em>Virology Journal<\/em>&nbsp;6:&nbsp;4 (2009).&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/1743-422X-6-4\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/1743-422X-6-4<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mintz, L., W.L. Drew, R.C. Miner, and E.H. Braff. (1983). Cytomegalovirus infections in homosexual men. An epidemiological study.&nbsp;<em>Annals of Internal Medicine<\/em>&nbsp;99(3):326-9.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7326\/0003-4819-99-3-326\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7326\/0003-4819-99-3-326<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saklofske, D. H., and D.D. Kostura. (1990). Extraversion-introversion and intelligence.&nbsp;<em>Personality and Individual Differences<\/em>&nbsp;11(6): 547-551.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/0191-8869(90)90036-Q\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/0191-8869(90)90036-Q<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smeland, O.B., S. Bahrami, O. Frei, A. Shadrin, K. O&#8217;Connell, J. Savage, K. Watanabe, F. Krull, F. Bettella, N.E. Steen, T. Ueland, D. Posthuma, S. Djurovic, A.M. Dale, and O.A. Andreassen. (2020). Genome-wide analysis reveals extensive genetic overlap between schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and intelligence.&nbsp;<em>Molecular Psychiatry<\/em>&nbsp;25(4):844-853.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41380-018-0332-x\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41380-018-0332-x<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Williams, T., C. Virto, R. Murillo, and P. Caballero. (2017). Covert Infection of Insects by Baculoviruses.&nbsp;<em>Frontiers in Microbiology<\/em>&nbsp;17(8): 1337.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmicb.2017.01337\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmicb.2017.01337<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wikipedia (2022).&nbsp;<em>Oslo \u2013 Demographics<\/em>.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oslo#Demographics\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oslo#Demographics<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_twitter_via = \"datebytype\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"datebytype\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Can a virus make you smarter?\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_twitter_via = \"datebytype\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"datebytype\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Can a virus make you smarter?\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>Cytomegalovirus is a genus of viruses in the order Herpesvirales, in the family Herpesviridae, in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae. Humans and monkeys serve as natural hosts. The 11 species in this genus include human betaherpesvirus 5, which is the species that infects humans.\u00a0 https:\/\/evoandproud.blogspot.com\/2022\/05\/a-virus-that-increases-intelligence-and.html Caterpillar infected by baculovirus, before liquefaction (Wikicommons, Williams et al. 2017) Higher IQ is associated with antibodies to cytomegalovirus, but only in adults whose IQ is already above a certain level. Which is the cause, and which is the effect? Cytomegalovirus (CMV) belongs to the herpes family and is spread by contact with bodily fluids. Around 45 to 100% of the population may be infected, although most hosts are unaware that they are infected. It has one <div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_twitter_via = \"datebytype\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"datebytype\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Can a virus make you smarter?\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"amp_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-facts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5DV68-3YG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15294"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15296,"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15294\/revisions\/15296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rhesusnegative.net\/staynegative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}