Understanding what causes diseases is a life-and-death matter. It is a complicated issue that has generated a great deal of debate in the medical community.
Cat-borne parasites that may affect human aggression aren’t the only microscopic freeloaders that influence their hosts’ brains.
Bill Campbell was awarded a Nobel Prize for medicine for this role in the discovery and development of the drug Ivermectin to treat river blindness.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Back in 2012, I had the great pleasure of meeting with William (Bill) Campbell at Trinity College. We were among a group of five receiving honorary doctorates from the University of Dublin.
We are used to the idea that modern technological inventions can have unforeseen consequences on health. Infamous examples include the anti-nausea drug thalidomide, which caused limb defects in unborn…
For decades, scientists have tried to understand the complex and gruesome relationship between the parasitic emerald wasp Ampulex compressa and its much larger victim, the common household cockroach Periplaneta…
‘Kiss me under the parasite’ doesn’t have quite the same ring …
Schnobby
Parasites are thought of as free-loaders, but many contribute as much as they take. They service the ecosystem. From an ecological perspective, they are more like tiny, hidden architects that are overlooked…
When microbes cause ants to become zombies.
Tommy Leung
One of most famous fungi in the world is the “zombie ant fungus”. It takes over the mind of an ant, causing it to climb up a branch and cling to the underside of a leaf before mummification. Once locked…
The hairworm is a long, thread-like parasite that sits bundled up inside the body of its host. It grows so large that it takes up most of the room inside the host’s body, waiting for the right moment to…