Pests and Parasites News

January 13, 2025

Top Headlines

Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Why Zika Virus Hijacks a Protein Needed for Brain Growth

Jan. 13, 2025 — The mosquito-borne Zika virus is known for causing microcephaly, a birth defect in which abnormal brain development results in a smaller-than-expected head. A new study shows that the Zika virus ...

Chimpanzees Are Genetically Adapted to Local Habitats and Infections Such as Malaria

Jan. 9, 2025 — Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savannah habitats, some of which may protect against malaria, according to a study by an international ...

Explorations of Wheat Stem Sawfly Management

Jan. 8, 2025 — Students researched sawfly biocontrols and the use of remote sensing to model infestation in ...

Drug-Resistant Hookworms Put Pets and People at Risk

Jan. 6, 2025 — Canine hookworms are becoming increasingly resistant to drugs across Australia, according to new research. Scientists have identified widespread resistance to benzimidazole-based dewormers which are commonly used to treat gastrointestinal parasites ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:14pm EST

Researchers Discover Class of Anti-Malaria Antibodies

Jan. 3, 2025 — Antibodies that bind to a previously untargeted portion of the malaria parasite could lead to new monoclonal antibody treatments and vaccines for ...

Fly Vs. Wasp: Stealing a Defense Move Helps Thwart a Predator

Dec. 25, 2024 — Many flies are plagued by parasitic wasps, which lay their eggs in fly larvae, turning them into surrogate wombs for wasp larvae. One common fly has successfully fought off its wasp predator by ...

Growing Safer Spuds: Removing Toxins from Potatoes

Dec. 20, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes and tomatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in ...

Research Points the Way to Lifesaving Antiparasitic Drugs While Unlocking a Scientific Mystery

Dec. 20, 2024 — A breakthrough in understanding how a single-cell parasite makes ergosterol (its version of cholesterol) could lead to more effective drugs for human ...

Genes Linked to Deadly Parasites' Spread Beyond Africa Identified

Dec. 19, 2024 — Parasites that cause the deadly illness known as sleeping sickness can spread beyond their native Africa as a result of mutations to key genes, a study ...

Evolutionary Study Reveals the Toxic Reach of Disease-Causing Bacteria Across the Plant Kingdom

Dec. 19, 2024 — The capacity of bacteria to spread disease across the Plant Kingdom may be much more widespread than previously suspected, according to new ...

Discovery Provides Hope in Fighting Drug-Resistant Malaria

Dec. 18, 2024 — Researchers may have found a new target in fighting malaria -- a cholesterol-managing protein called ...

How Helicopter Parenting Protects Baby Reef Fish

Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a rare example of 'great fish parenting' with a common coral reef species found to actively protect their young by eating ...

Ugh, My Stomach: Identifying Amino Acids That Prevent Sporulation in Food Poisoning

Dec. 12, 2024 — A team analyzed the amino acids that affect the formation of spores in a bacterium that causes food poisoning, Clostridium perfringens, and ...

Toxoplasma Gondii Parasite Uses Unconventional Method to Make Proteins for Evasion of Drug Treatment

Dec. 9, 2024 — A study sheds new light on how Toxoplasma gondii parasites make the proteins they need to enter a dormant stage that allows them to escape drug ...

A Tropical Disease in Switzerland: Call for Coordinated Action on Chagas Disease

Dec. 20, 2024 — Researchers conducted a comprehensive review of Chagas disease in Switzerland. Although typically found in Latin America, Chagas disease affects between 2,000 and 4,000 people in Switzerland. The ...

Insect Genome Offers Insights Into Rare Biological Conditions, Agricultural Biosecurity

Dec. 9, 2024 — Lice live their entire lives with a set of genes that in humans would indicate a late-stage degenerative disorder such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease. How do lice tolerate this ...

Unlocking Worm Strategies: A Path to Innovative Vaccines and Therapies

Dec. 9, 2024 — A research team has uncovered a molecular strategy employed by worm parasites (helminths) to evade host immune defenses. This discovery opens new avenues for the development of innovative vaccines ...

A New Approach to Predicting Malaria Drug Resistance

Dec. 9, 2024 — Researchers analyzed the genomes of hundreds of malaria parasites to determine which genetic variants are most likely to confer drug ...

Neem Seed Extract Improves Effectiveness of Pesticide

Dec. 6, 2024 — A research group has developed an innovative pesticide delivery system called nanopesticides. These tiny technologies could change how we use ...

Scientists 'Turn Up the Heat' on Understanding Coffee Wilt Disease Which Threatens Our Favorite Daily Brew

Dec. 5, 2024 — Scientists have 'turned up the heat' on how repeated outbreaks of coffee wilt disease threatened arabica and robusta varieties of our favorite daily coffee brew. The scientists say the ...

Historic Outbreaks of Coffee Wilt Disease Linked to Gene Transfer from Another Fungus

Dec. 5, 2024 — The fungus that causes coffee wilt disease repeatedly took up segments of DNA from a related fungal pathogen, which contributed to successive outbreaks of the disease, according to a new ...

Natural 'Biopesticide' Against Malaria Mosquitoes Successful in Early Field Tests

Dec. 4, 2024 — An experimental bacteria-derived biopesticide is highly effective in killing malaria-carrying mosquitoes, including those that have developed resistance to chemical pesticides, according to initial ...

Insects Wearing Two Hats Solve Botanical Mystery

Dec. 4, 2024 — The discovery of a unique case where the same insect species both pollinate a plant and distribute its seeds not only solves a long-standing botanical mystery. The find also stresses the diverse ...

Breakthrough Could Revolutionize Future of Tick Control

Nov. 27, 2024 — Scientists create potential for genetic tools to control disease-spreading ...

New Gene Drive Reverses Insecticide Resistance in Pests... Then Disappears

Nov. 22, 2024 — Geneticists have developed a gene drive-based solution to the widespread problem of insecticide resistance. In an effort to protect valuable crops, the researchers created an 'e-Drive' that ...

What's the Story, Morning Glory?

Nov. 21, 2024 — Morning glory plants that can resist the effects of glyphosate also resist damage from herbivorous insects, according to a new ...

Stopping Severe Malaria by Harnessing Natural Human Antibodies

Nov. 20, 2024 — Scientists have identified human antibodies capable of targeting the proteins responsible for severe malaria, potentially paving the way for new vaccines or treatments. Using organ-on-a-chip ...

HIV Latency Reversing Properties in African Plant

Nov. 19, 2024 — The Wistar Institute and the University of Buea in Cameroon has uncovered the mechanisms for a medicinal plant with anti-HIV potential in Croton oligandrus Pierre & Hutch, a species of African ...

Study Uncovers First Evidence of Resistance to Standard Malaria Treatment in African Children With Severe Malaria

Nov. 14, 2024 — An international team of researchers has uncovered evidence of partial resistance to artemisinin derivatives -- the primary treatment for malaria -- in young children with severe ...

Robot Identifies Plants by 'Touching' Their Leaves

Nov. 13, 2024 — Researchers have developed a robot that identifies different plant species at various stages of growth by 'touching' their leaves with an electrode. The robot can measure properties such as ...

From Pets to Pests: Researchers Explore New Tool to Fight Disease-Carrying Insects

Nov. 12, 2024 — Researchers are testing a product commonly used to treat ticks and fleas on pets to target fly and mosquito larvae with the goal of helping reduce the spread of diseases carried by these ...

One Genomic Test Can Diagnose Nearly Any Infection

Nov. 12, 2024 — A genomic test developed by researchers to rapidly detect almost any kind of pathogen -- virus, bacteria, fungus or parasite -- has proved successful after a decade of ...

Insect-Killing Fungi Find Unexpected Harmony in War

Nov. 7, 2024 — A new study reveals that two strains of pathogenic fungi unexpectedly divide insect victims amongst themselves rather than aggressively compete for ...

Research Shows Caterpillar Fungus Can Slow Down Growth of Cancer Cells

Nov. 7, 2024 — New research into a chemical produced by a caterpillar fungus that has shown promise as a possible cancer treatment has revealed how it interacts with genes to interrupt cell growth signals. The ...