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.
When University of Michigan researchers were looking at the effects of a parasite on a tiny freshwater crustacean, they found something unexpected.
Plants & Animals
Sep 8, 2025
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81
New research, published in The Journal of Immunology, discovered that a parasitic worm suppresses neurons in the skin to evade detection. The researchers suggest that the worm likely evolved this mechanism to enhance its ...
Evolution
Aug 11, 2025
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17
When I tell people I study parasites that live inside ticks, I usually get one of two reactions: a shudder of disgust or a puzzled look that says, "Don't ticks already carry enough diseases?"
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that affects up to 1 million people worldwide each year. It is caused by the protozoan Leishmania, transmitted through the bite of a sandfly. Once inside its host—human or animal—the parasite ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 31, 2025
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42
When you think of barnacles, you likely picture shell-like creatures stuck to the sides of boats or docks, or even whales. However, did you know that some of the barnacles that attach to other animals are not just hitching ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 21, 2025
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220
Parasitic, egg-eating worms might sound like the stuff of nightmares, but they're simply a fact of life for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.
Ecology
Jul 11, 2025
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548
In a new study published and featured in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America, researchers have discovered that the developmental struggles of young parasitoid flies can have lasting effects that echo into adulthood.
Plants & Animals
Jul 11, 2025
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26
When Entomophaga grylli infects locusts or grasshoppers, they climb to the tops of plants before their death. The zombie-ant fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects ants and controls their behaviors to benefit fungal transmission. ...
Ecology
Jul 1, 2025
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30
Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers report that fossilized entomopathogenic fungi from mid-Cretaceous amber reveal some of the oldest direct evidence of parasitic relationships between fungi and insects, suggesting that ...
From cancer to infectious diseases to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, there is an undeniable need for new treatments and medications.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 23, 2025
0
26
