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A small number of people in Florida and Texas have contracted malaria

What we know so far about the malaria cases in Florida and Texas

27 June 2023

Five malaria cases have been reported in Florida and Texas, all of which were acquired through local transmission


Life-extending parasite makes ants live at least three times longer

12 June 2023

Ants infected by the parasite don't work, are cared for by uninfected workers and live much longer than usual


A pair of the parasitic water-borne worms Schistosoma mansoni

We now know how parasitic worms help ward off obesity and diabetes

12 May 2023

We have long known that parasitic worm infections are associated with lower rates of several conditions. Now, research in mice reveals how the worms elicit these protections


City life may help Darwin's finches survive bloodsucking flies

24 March 2023

In the Galapagos Islands, finches that live near cities have higher survival rates against parasitic flies than those who live in the country


Parasite from cat faeces killed four sea otters in California

22 March 2023

An unusually virulent strain of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, primarily found in cat faeces, has been reported in marine animals for the first time


Electrical field of a fruit fly

Jumping parasitic worms use static electricity to hit their targets

15 March 2023

Millimetre-long worms use powerful muscles to jump onto their bee or fly hosts to feed. But their expert leaping may be helped by an electric attraction that pulls them to their targets mid-air


A person spraying some plants

Massive tick-killing effort fails to reduce Lyme disease cases

9 February 2023

Killing ticks in an area reduces the number carrying the main bacterium that causes Lyme disease, but a large study found it does not lead to fewer reports of people getting sick


Hydnora bolinii

Odd parasitic plant with fleshy flowers identified as new species

18 January 2023

A review of hydnora plants has identified one new species based on preserved specimens and reinstated two others, bringing the total number to 10


A species of the Trypanosoma brucei parasite, which can cause sleeping sickness, in blood

Drug clears sleeping sickness parasite from the body in clinical trial

29 November 2022

In a small trial, an experimental medicine was 100 per cent effective at ridding the parasite that causes sleeping sickness from the bodies of people with an early to intermediate infection


Microplastic fiber under a microscope with biofilm (fuzzy blue) and T. gondii (blue dot) and giardia (green dot) pathogens

Microplastics may be dragging faecal parasites from land into the seas

26 April 2022

Three parasites that are sometimes found in cat and human faeces can live on the surface of microplastic particles, and may be transported into the sea


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