Kyle Harper

And that's evolution.

Actually, this is one of the cool things with ancient DNA.

We've been able to, like, piece together at the, like, absolute molecular level the

The genetic changes that let it make this protein that like have this effect in fleas.

It's really weird.

It forms this biofilm in the gut of the flea that like chokes it and makes the flea feel like it's starving.

And so the flea just starts feeding and feeding and feeding.

And meanwhile, it's regurgitating bacteria.

We can talk about zombies, but that's a—we need to wind up for that.

Okay, so one, flea—so the plague is vector-borne, and it's really, really good at, like, manipulating the fleas, and it's just evolution.

Two, I said this before, but it's an animal disease.

We're, like—

Collateral damage.

We're totally irrelevant to the like really core evolutionary history.

The plague just wants to infect rodents.

Of course, I'm – it's not really like wanting to do this.

The plague makes a living.

It survives out there in burrowing rodent colonies.

We're like –

I mean, it doesn't care at all.