Parasites are organisms that live in or on a host organism and obtain nutrients at the host’s expense, forming a specialized ecological and evolutionary interaction characterized by dependence and often high host specificity. They encompass diverse taxa, including protozoa, helminths, arthropods, fungi, and some plants, and exhibit complex life cycles that may involve multiple hosts and vectors. Research topics on parasites address host–parasite coevolution, immune evasion strategies, transmission dynamics, virulence evolution, and the population genetics and genomics of parasite species, as well as their roles in ecosystems, disease emergence, and the modulation of host physiology and behavior.
An international research team headed by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and the Center for Structural Systems Biology and Bernhard-Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Germany has revealed ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 2, 2026
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Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) the influence of parasitic fungi on the physiology and survival of cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea was investigated. Such infections are known ...
Ecology
Jan 21, 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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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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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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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
As climate change profoundly alters ecosystems in North America, a small parasite is wreaking havoc: the winter tick. This tick, now more prevalent due to milder environmental conditions, is severely affecting the winter ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 16, 2025
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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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In a new study published in Nature, scientists have successfully developed genetically modified mosquitoes in Tanzania that block the transmission of malaria. The team includes researchers from the Ifakara Health Institute ...
Biotechnology
Dec 11, 2025
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More than half a million people, the vast majority being children under the age of 5, die annually due to malaria, with Sub-Saharan Africa as the most highly burdened region. Mosquitoes belonging to the genus Anopheles carry ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 9, 2025
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