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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

Lizards keep evolving toxic green blood and we don't know why

16 May 2018

All the green-blooded lizards in the world live in New Guinea, but it turns out the trait has evolved there independently at least four times

Mistletoe's cells are broken at a fundamental level

3 May 2018

All complex organisms rely on tiny nodules called mitochondria to supply their cells with energy – but mistletoe’s mitochondria don’t work and yet it survives

A weird underground plant has been rediscovered after 151 years

2 March 2018

A species of subterranean plant was only seen once, in 1866, and was assumed to be extinct – until researchers stumbled across living specimens in Borneo

Newly-discovered fungi turn luckless ants into kamikaze zombies

26 February 2018

Fifteen more species of “zombie ant fungus” have been discovered, and they all force their hosts to die in creative ways to further their own life cycle

Genital parasite crabs are struggling to find sex partners

19 December 2017

Parasitic crustaceans called castrator pea crabs spend most of their lives hiding in the sex organs of limpets, and that makes it difficult to find a mate

Parasitic worm eggs may soon be legally sold as food in Germany

7 August 2017

Thousands have been infecting themselves with parasites to treat conditions like depression and multiple sclerosis, but we don’t yet know if it works

Ticks use sticky pads on their feet to cling on to our skin

31 May 2017

Microscopy images reveal how tick parasites use specialised sticky pads and bendable claws to stick to their hosts while they suck blood

Parasite living inside fish eyeball controls its behaviour

4 May 2017

Young parasites make their fish hosts extra careful – but once they mature they do all they can to ensure the fish are eaten by a bird to complete their life cycle