Parasites

Latest about parasites

The parasite <em>Cyclospora</em> can cause intestinal illness. Above, an image taken with a microscope showing <em>Cyclospora</em> eggs (red) in a stool sample.

Dozens Fall Ill in Texas Outbreak: What Is Cyclospora?

By Rachael Rettner published

So far, Texas health officials have identified 56 illnesses due to Cyclospora since May.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
An ocean wave over sand.

Beachgoers Beware? 5 Pathogens That Lurk In Sand

By Rachael Rettner published

Beach sand can harbor a number of bacteria, parasites and fungi that are linked with diseases.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
A woman in Russia found a lump on her face that turned out to be a parasitic worm crawling under her skin. The lump first appeared under the woman's eye (Panel A), and then moved above her eye (Panel B), before migrating to her upper lip (Panel C). Doctor

A Weird Lump on a Woman's Face Turned Out to Be a Worm Crawling Under Her Skin

By Rachael Rettner published

When a woman in Russia noticed a small lump under her left eye, she snapped a selfie. Then, the lump moved.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
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See How Brain Worms Turn Ants into the Walking Dead

By Mindy Weisberger published

Can you wrap your mind around the idea of an ant brain with a worm in it?

Animals
This parasitic ant, called <i>Megalomyrmex symmetochus</i>, crashes colonies of fungus-farming ants (<i>Sericomyrmex amabilis</i>), eating their crops and killing their babies.

Baby-Eating Ants Use Espionage, Chemical Warfare To Score Free Rent

By Brandon Specktor published

Worst. Roommates. Ever.

Insects
An image of an adult whipworm, taken with a scanning electron microscope. New research finds that these parasites have their own gut bacteria.

These Gut Bugs Need Their Own Gut Bugs

By Rachael Rettner published

It's a Russian nesting doll of sorts: Parasitic bugs that live in the human gut have their own set of gut bugs inside their intestines.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
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How Swallowing a Slug Left a Teen Paralyzed

By Mindy Weisberger published

An Australian teenager who ate a garden slug on a dare was infected by a parasite that caused a debilitating brain disease, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
An scanning electron microscope (SEM) scan showing an adult female (pink) and male (blue) <em>Schistosoma mansoni</em>. The female worm lies in a groove on the male's back.

Why 17 People Volunteered to Be Infected with Parasitic Worms

By Sara G. Miller published

At a university hospital in the Netherlands, 17 students have a tropical parasitic disease.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
A photo captured in 2017 shows the bulb of the flower.

Bizarre, Parasitic 'Fairy Lantern' Reappears in the Rainforest After 151 Years

By Rafi Letzter published

A strange plant that needs no sunlight and sucks on underground fungi for nutrients has turned up in Borneo, Malaysia, 151 years after the last time a scientist found it.

Plants
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Tick Bites Tick! Tiny Male Puts the Bite on an Engorged Female

By Mindy Weisberger published

A tiny tick had an even tinier bloodsucking hitchhiker.

Animals
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