Sea otters living along the central California coast risk higher exposure to disease-causing parasites as a consequence of the food they eat and where they feed.

Eating a meal in a restaurant is one of those trivial, everyday activities we take for granted in the developed world. For Canadian aid worker Louisette Pouliot, however, the simple act of grabbing a quick bite at an outdoor eatery in Ouagadougou, the capital of the African nation of Burkina Faso, had profound implications for her life and health.

Rivers and oceans all over the world are home to a variety of microorganisms. Under certain conditions, these microorganisms can grow and reproduce without limit. When the water is rich with nutrients and there are no predators or parasites to keep their populations in check, some populations of microorganisms can grow until the water seems to turn a different color – their color.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, together with American colleagues, have decoded the genome of the Pristionchus pacificus nematode, thereby gaining insight into the evolution of parasitism.

In a study of free-living and parasitic species in three estuaries on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California, a team of researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, the United States Geological Survey, and Princeton University has determined that parasite biomass in those habitats exceeds that of top predators, in some cases by a factor of 20.

In the June 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Sinisa Urban (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) and colleagues reveal a potential role for the rhomboid enzyme, EhROM1, in the pathogenesis of the enteric protozoan parasite, E. histolytica.

All multicellular animals have an innate immune system: When bacteria, parasites or fungi invade the organism, small protein molecules are released that eliminate the attackers.

A new study into the way in which parasites interact with each other could help predict when infectious diseases are likely to break out.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the question, if the entry of veterinary medicinal products (VMP) into soils via manure application is of environmental relevance.

A new study explores the role of natural enemies, such as predators and parasites, for mixed mating, a reproductive strategy in which hermaphroditic plants and animals reproduce through both self- and cross-fertilization. The findings highlight the possible evolutionary consequences of these interactions.

An international team of researchers has revealed the genetic secrets of one of the world’s most debilitating human parasites, Brugia malayi (B. malayi), which the World Health Organization estimates has seriously incapacitated and disfigured more than 40 million people around the globe.

More than 150 million people worldwide are infected with filarial parasites -- long, thread-like worms that can live for years inside the human body and cause severe, debilitating diseases such as elephantiasis.