Parasitology is the scientific discipline that investigates parasites—organisms that live in or on a host and derive resources at the host’s expense—along with their hosts and the environments that shape these interactions. It encompasses the biology, life cycles, genetics, ecology, and evolution of protozoan, helminth, and arthropod parasites, as well as host immune responses and mechanisms of pathogenesis. Parasitology underpins diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of parasitic diseases in humans, animals, and plants, integrating tools from molecular biology, immunology, epidemiology, and vector biology to elucidate transmission dynamics, drug resistance, and control strategies.
Along the Gulf Coast, black skimmers have long been a familiar sight—gliding just above the water with their bright orange beaks slicing through the surface to feed.
Plants & Animals
Jul 31, 2026
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28
Constant scratching, bumpy skin and tufts of lost fur. Those are just some of the signs that an animal has scabies, a severe and potentially fatal skin disease caused by tiny mites (Sarcoptes scabiei) that burrow into the ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 30, 2026
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6
New World screwworm, a concerning pest that mainly affects livestock and wildlife, was detected in South Texas in June 2026. It has since expanded northward in Texas, and there was one case in New Mexico as of July 23, 2026.
Ecology
Jul 24, 2026
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10
A tapeworm fundamentally changes the lives of ants: Workers of the species Temnothorax nylanderi infected with the tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis live several times longer than their uninfected nestmates. They are also less ...
Ecology
Jul 21, 2026
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141
African sleeping sickness and related diseases can be treated only with toxic and sometimes ineffective drugs. Now, University of Connecticut researchers show in Nucleic Acids Research that a crucial enzyme could be the key ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 21, 2026
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6
Mosquitoes are widely known for transmitting diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to humans, but less is known about the diseases they can transmit to wild birds. The Plasmodium parasite that causes avian malaria is ...
Ecology
Jul 17, 2026
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11
Cats may be cute and adorable, but stray and feral cats can sometimes pose a risk to human health. Veterinary researchers have discovered that more than 50% of free-roaming cats in New York City carry parasites that could ...
Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the first case of New World screwworm (NWS) in the United States on June 3, pet owners and shelters alike have expressed concern about what this might mean for their animals. ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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24
A new study published in the Journal of Helminthology by researchers from the Estonian University of Life Sciences and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, together with collaborators from Greenland and the Faroe ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2026
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16
As human cases of flea-borne murine typhus continue to occur in South Texas, researchers are working to better understand the role cats and their fleas may play in the disease's transmission cycle.
Veterinary medicine
Jul 2, 2026
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