Many microscopic bugs and bacteria live on our skin and within our various nooks and crannies. Almost anywhere on (or even within) the human body can be home to these enterprising bugs. Bugs affect us…
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Articles on Parasites
Displaying 121 - 140 of 147 articles
Alien species become invasive when their introduction to an ecosystem ends up causing ecological disruption in their new home. Cane toads, rabbits, water hyacinth, and zebra mussels are all infamous examples…
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…
Meet a parasite that can create its own mobile nursery for its young, a parasite that is thought to be the inspiration behind the chest-bursting xenomorph in the film Alien. Meet Phronima, the pram-pushing…
Male honey bees are more susceptible to a fungal intestinal parasite (Nosema ceranae) than females, researchers from the…
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…
Hornets put fear into the minds of most, but there is a parasite that the hornets fear (if indeed they are capable of fear). Sphaerularia vespae is a parasitic nematode that infects the Japanese yellow…
A food-borne illness is spreading quickly through the United States, an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed. The disease, called cyclosporiasis, is common…
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…
Autoimmune disorders including Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes, as well as chronic asthma and allergies are at an all-time high across the globe. Some…
An influential US blog about climate change recently featured the story of a “brain-eating” infectious parasite that has caused 31 deaths in that country in the past decade. “Brain-eating” is just one…
Parasites are fascinating. They are uniquely adapted to survive, in some cases through very complex life cycles. There’s also research to suggest that some may even change the behaviour of hosts to assist…
Cerebral malaria, or malaria of the brain, means being deeply unconscious with perpetual cycles of seizures and spasms. It can cause death, or often disability. About 600,000 people suffer this terrible…
About half of the world’s population are at risk of contracting malaria. In 2011, there were 26m reported cases and more than 100,000 deaths. Children are especially vulnerable though the disease is both…
Researchers at the University of Melbourne have uncovered the malaria parasite’s ability to communicate with other malaria…
Immature malaria parasites are 100 times less sensitive to artemisinin-based drugs than older parasites, a new study has…
A new class of antimalarial drug has been discovered, using spiroindolones to block a pump within the malaria parasites face…
Across the country, tiny blood-sucking parasites are settling in for the new school year. Head lice infestation, officially known as pediculosis, is common in primary school-aged children. But don’t worry…
A major genetic risk factor for visceral leishmaniasis, also known as black fever, has been identified, paving the way for…
I should admit straight up that I’m no fan of cats. Like any zoologist I treasure the rare glimpses I have had of lions, leopards, serval and even ocelot. But I have never understood the devotion of so…
Top contributors
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Lecturer in Parasitology and Evolutionary Biology, University of New England
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Associate Professor and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University
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Professor of Interdisciplinary Parasitology, University of Nottingham
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Reader in Ecological Genetics, Liverpool John Moores University
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Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney
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Honorary Professor, Federation University Australia
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Professor of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University
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Professor in Evolutionary Biology, Macquarie University
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Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences, RMIT University
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Professor of Animal Behaviour, Flinders University
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Professeur, UMR ISYEB (Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité), Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)
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Professor of Protozoology, University of Bristol
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Research Fellow, Malaria biochemistry, Monash University
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Director of the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford
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Researcher in Nematology, Parasitology, Systematics, Stellenbosch University
