Spring signals return of dangerous pet parasites

Warm weather and longer days mean many pets and their owners will be spending more time outside. Spring also brings the return of fleas that can pose as dangerous parasites to pets.

The bug that lost a few genes to become Black Death

About 6,000 years ago, a bacterium underwent a few genetic changes. These allowed it to expand its habitat from the guts of mice to that of fleas. Such changes happen all the time, but in this particular instance the transformation ...

Can a tropical water flea invade European lakes?

Daphnia is a genus of small, planktonic crustaceans, commonly called 'water fleas' because of their jumpy swimming style and their size (between 0.2 and 5 mm). They live in various aquatic environments, ranging from acidic ...

Changes in water chemistry leave lake critters defenseless

Imagine that the players on your favourite football team were smaller than their opponents, and had to play without helmets or pads. Left defenseless, they would become easy prey for other teams. Similarly, changes in Canadian ...

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