Host-parasite interactions are dynamic biological processes encompassing the molecular, cellular, physiological, and ecological exchanges between a parasite and its host that determine infection establishment, persistence, and transmission. They include mechanisms of host recognition and invasion, nutrient acquisition, immune evasion and modulation by the parasite, and host immune detection, effector responses, and tolerance strategies. These interactions drive coevolutionary arms races, shaping parasite virulence, host resistance, and specificity through genetic variation and selection. At the systems level, host-parasite interactions influence pathogen life cycles, tissue tropism, and disease outcomes, integrating signaling pathways, microbiome context, and environmental factors that modulate susceptibility and epidemiological patterns.
How do evolutionarily conserved pathogen effectors maintain structural stability while engaging diverse host targets? In a new study published in Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions, researchers at the University of Pretoria's ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 25, 2026
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When it comes to biodiversity, researchers and the public tend to focus on large-scale patterns. This overlooks a hidden but precious diversity: small, inconspicuous wasps, midges, flies, beetles and other insects that live ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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20
New research on avian malaria, which has decimated Hawaii's beloved birds, explains how non-native birds play a key role in transmission and contribute to the widespread distribution of the disease. This disease threatens ...
Ecology
Feb 10, 2026
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20
Rove beetles have evolved a neat trick to survive. They cloak themselves in ant pheromones, allowing them to enter and remain undetected within ant colonies. But it comes with a catch. Once a rove beetle lineage evolves this ...
A warming climate is disrupting the delicate balance of nature. An international team of scientists led by entomologists from the Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences has found that higher temperatures significantly ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 28, 2026
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53
A University of California, Riverside team of scientists has found that Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite affecting up to one-third of the global population, is far more complex than previously believed. The findings, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 27, 2026
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A recent study shows that viruses in wild bees are closely linked to the flowers they visit and the availability of floral resources across the landscape. Researchers found that certain floral communities increase the likelihood ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 15, 2026
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New research led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) warns that hybrid forms of the parasites that cause schistosomiasis are undermining existing disease control strategies and could accelerate the spread of infection ...
Evolution
Jan 9, 2026
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Australian researchers have uncovered how a particular strain of a diarrhea-causing parasite managed to infect more animal species, offering new insights into how parasitic infections emerge and spread to people.
Evolution
Jan 7, 2026
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35
Higher temperatures may make monarch butterflies more vulnerable to parasites, according to new research from the University of Georgia. The work is published in the journal Ecological Entomology.
Plants & Animals
Jan 5, 2026
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