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.
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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52
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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242
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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37
Parasitic plants are notorious agricultural pests that drain nutrients from crops and cause economic losses of more than USD 1 billion due to yield losses every year. Yet these plants almost never attack themselves or closely ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 19, 2025
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28
Why do parasites harm their hosts? That's a question evolutionary biologists ask as they try to predict how a parasite might evolve and perhaps become more lethal in response to control methods, such as vaccines or drug treatments.
Evolution
Dec 17, 2025
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15
Parasitic weeds extract water and nutrients from their host plants. But what makes these parasites so successful? A study led by Prof Susann Wicke from the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at the University of Münster ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 12, 2025
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46
A genus of fungi previously considered a parasite of fungi associated with ants may actually have much more complex ecological functions. According to a study published in the journal Communications Biology, one piece of ...
Evolution
Dec 8, 2025
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47
Researchers at LMU in collaboration with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have discovered how the parasite Toxoplasma gondii builds a specialized structure that allows it to move and invade host ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 2, 2025
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15
Marine viruses deploy a sophisticated Trojan horse maneuver that enables them to dismantle the energy systems of ocean bacteria and use the breakdown products for self-replication. This finding comes from a study conducted ...
Ecology
Nov 25, 2025
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