Pests and Parasites News

December 1, 2023

Top Headlines

Harnessing the Power of a Parasite That Can Stop Pain

Nov. 30, 2023 — For the first time, scientists have begun to figure out why the disfiguring skin lesions caused by cutaneous leishmaniasis don't ...

Vulnerability of England's Only Resident Bottlenose Dolphins

Nov. 29, 2023 — New research has provided a detailed examination of England's bottlenose dolphin population's existence and the challenges it faces from human activities and environmental factors on a daily ...

Researchers Puncture 100-Year-Old Theory of Odd Little 'Water Balloons'

Nov. 22, 2023 — Quinoa and many other extremely resilient plants are covered with strange balloon-like 'bladders' that for 127 years were believed to be responsible for protecting them from drought and salt. Research results reveal this not to be the case. These ...

New Approaches in the Fight Against Drug Resistance in Malaria

Nov. 20, 2023 — Malaria is one of the most widespread and deadly infectious diseases worldwide. New compounds are continuously required due to the risk of malaria parasites becoming resistant to the medicines currently used. A team of researchers has now combined ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:07pm EST

Hemp Cannabinoids May Have Evolved to Deter Insect Pests

Nov. 15, 2023 — Cannabinoids, naturally occurring compounds found in hemp plants, may have evolved to deter pests from chewing on them, according to new research that showed higher cannabinoid concentrations in hemp ...

Pesticides, Herbicides, Fungicides Detected in New York State Beeswax

Nov. 9, 2023 — An analysis of beeswax in managed honeybee hives in New York finds a wide variety of pesticide, herbicide and fungicide residues, exposing current and future generations of bees to long-term ...

'Alien' Wasps Thriving in Tropical Forests

Nov. 8, 2023 — Researchers say they have discovered high diversity of Darwin wasps in a tropical rainforest in Brazil, wasps which were previously thought to thrive more in cooler ...

First Evidence of How the Asian Malaria Mosquito Is Spreading Drug-Resistant Malaria in Africa

Nov. 8, 2023 — Research has led to the discovery of the role played by the Asian malaria mosquito (Anopheles stephensi) in the spread of drug and ...

Head Lice Evolution Mirrors Human Migration and Colonization in the Americas

Nov. 8, 2023 — A new analysis of lice genetic diversity suggests that lice came to the Americas twice -- once during the first wave of human migration across the ...

Infection With Common Cat-Borne Parasite Associated With Frailty in Older Adults

Nov. 7, 2023 — A new study of 601 older adults found that those with higher serointensity -- or a higher concentration of antibiodies -- to the cat-borne parasite ...

Dam Removals, Restoration Project on Klamath River Expected to Help Salmon, Researchers Conclude

Nov. 1, 2023 — The world's largest dam removal and restoration project currently underway on the Klamath River in Oregon and California will aid salmon populations ...

How Sunflowers See the Sun

Oct. 31, 2023 — Sunflowers famously turn their faces to follow the sun as it crosses the sky. But how do sunflowers 'see' the sun to follow it? Plant biologists show that they use a different, novel mechanism from ...

Specific Gut Bacteria Increase Risk of Severe Malaria

Oct. 30, 2023 — Researchers have identified multiple species of bacteria that, when present in the gut, are linked to an increased risk of developing severe malaria in humans and ...

Sunflower Extract Fights Fungi to Keep Blueberries Fresh

Oct. 25, 2023 — Opening a clamshell of berries and seeing them coated in fuzzy mold is a downer. And it's no small problem. Gray mold and other fungi, which cause fruit to rot, lead to significant economic losses ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

Soil Carried on Sea Freight Loaded With Dangerous Pests and Diseases, Research Finds

Oct. 25, 2023 — While sea freight is recognised as a pathway for the movement of exotic organisms, there is little research that has quantified the risk. Soil collected from the external surfaces of sea freight was ...

Discovery Finds Ferns Produce Crop-Saving Insecticide

Oct. 23, 2023 — Researchers have solved the structure of a novel insecticidal protein that is effective in protecting major crop plants like corn and soybean from pests and is naturally produced by ...

Plants Transformed Into Detectors of Dangerous Chemicals

Oct. 23, 2023 — What if your house plant could tell you your water isn't safe? Scientists are closer to realizing this vision, having successfully engineered a plant to turn beet red in the presence of a ...

Fungal Evolution Discovered: Mycena Can Now Invade Living Hosts

Oct. 23, 2023 — Biologists have long known mushrooms of the genus Mycena, commonly known as bonnet mushrooms, as fungi that live off of dead trees and plants. New research demonstrates that bonnets can also find ...

What Do New Moms and Roaches Have in Common?

Oct. 20, 2023 — Researchers are studying the dramatic physical transformation that some insects undergo to give birth to live young. This includes suppressing their immune systems to accommodate babies, which is ...

Potential for Injectable 'Chemical Vaccine' for Malaria Using Atovaquone

Oct. 20, 2023 — Researchers looking to develop a long-acting, injectable malaria preventive using atovaquone have shown in a new study that resistance may not be the challenge scientists thought it was, particularly ...

How to Help Save Plants from Extinction

Oct. 17, 2023 — Now is the time to identify the conditions that cause plants to die. Doing so will allow us to better protect plants by choosing conservation targets more strategically, botanists ...

Cocoa Pods -- A Source of Chocolate, and Potentially, Flame Retardants

Oct. 17, 2023 — As Halloween approaches, so too does the anticipation of a trick-or-treating stash filled with fun-sized chocolate candy bars. But to satisfy our collective craving for this indulgence, millions of ...

Endemic Malaria Found in High, Dry Northwestern Kenya

Oct. 12, 2023 — Turkana County in northwestern Kenya was thought to be too dry for the mosquitoes that harbor malaria-causing parasites. But that assumption may have been wrong, according to a new study by malaria ...

The Prevalence of Malaria Infections Varies Among Migrant Populations

Oct. 11, 2023 — The prevalence of malaria infections among migrants from sub-Saharan Africa is considerably high (8%), while Asian and Latin American migrants have a much lower prevalence, according to a new ...

Tropical Ecosystems More Reliant on Emerging Aquatic Insects, Study Finds, Potentially Putting Them at Greater Risk

Oct. 9, 2023 — Researchers have found that tropical forest ecosystems are more reliant on aquatic insects than temperate forest ecosystems, making them more vulnerable to disruptions to the links between land and ...

How Male Mosquitoes Compensate for Having Only One X Chromosome

Oct. 6, 2023 — Researchers have discovered the master regulator responsible for balancing the expression of X chromosome genes between males and females in the malaria mosquito. This discovery helps scientists ...

New Discovery May 'Unlock' the Future of Infectious Disease and Cancer Treatment

Oct. 5, 2023 — Researchers have identified a 'guard mechanism' for a protein which attacks microbes in infected cells, opening the possibility of new treatments for Toxoplasma, Chlamydia, Tuberculosis and ...

New Type of Tiny Wasp Comes With Mysterious, Cloud-Like Structures at Ends of Antennae

Oct. 4, 2023 — Fossil researchers have discovered a novel genus and species of tiny wasp with a mysterious, bulbous structure at the end of each ...

Meadow Spittlebug's Record-Breaking Diet Also Makes It Top Disease Carrier for Plants

Oct. 4, 2023 — New research fueled in part by citizen scientists reveals that the meadow spittlebug—known for the foamy, spit-like urine released by its nymphs—can feed on at least 1,300 species of host plants, ...

A Lethal Parasite's Secret Weapon: Infecting Non-Immune Cells

Sep. 29, 2023 — The organisms that cause visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially deadly version of the parasitic disease that most often affects the skin to cause disfiguring disease, appear to have a secret weapon, ...

Malaria: Treatment of Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Patients Under Threat in the Horn of Africa

Sep. 29, 2023 — Diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria using rapid diagnostic tests and treatment with artemisinin derivatives, the main component of the malaria treatments recommended by the World Health ...

Decreasing Biodiversity May Promote Spread of Viruses

Sep. 27, 2023 — How are environmental changes, loss of biodiversity, and the spread of pathogens connected? The answer is a puzzle. Researchers have now described one piece of that puzzle, showing that the ...

Discovery in Mosquitoes Could Lead to New Strategy Against Dengue Fever and Other Mosquito-Borne Vectors

Sep. 22, 2023 — Researchers have made an important finding about Aedes aegypti mosquitoes -- one that could one day lead to better methods for reducing the mosquito-to-human transmission of dengue, yellow fever, ...

New Strategies Reduce Treatment Failure in Malaria by Up to 81%

Sep. 21, 2023 — To slow artemisinin resistance and reduce treatment failures, an international research team investigated various drug policy interventions in Rwanda, where artemisinin resistance was first reported ...

Wednesday, October 25, 2023