Locating a host hidden inside another host
Parasites have evolved various strategies for finding a host. For hyperparasitoids that use a host hidden inside its own host this poses a particular problem.… Read more »
Hilary Hurd
Editor at BugBitten
Hilary is Professor Emeritus of Parasitology at Keele University, UK, having retired at the end of 2013. Her research interests have revolved around parasites transmitted by insects and their interactions with their vectors. She was Director of the Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology at Keele for over ten years and served as President of the British Society for Parasitology.
Latest posts by Hilary Hurd (see all)
A tsetse fly aphrodisiac is identified
New research sheds more light on the odors involved in tsetse fly mating behaviour.
The demise of the Guinea worm
Following previous setbacks, an announcement in January this year suggests Guinea worm disease may finally be on its way to eradication. If achieved, this would… Read more »
Wolves, cougars and the parasite that links them
A parasite that encysts in the brains of wolves in Yellowstone National Park is associated with changes in wolf behaviour that may increase their incidence of… Read more »
Liver stage malaria parasites: does it matter where they are located?
Malaria parasites multiply in liver cells prior to invading red blood cells. Recent work has been investigating whether the position of a host cell within the… Read more »
A new understanding of old pandemics
Analysis of genomes of plague bacterium from ancient burial sites are shedding light on the origins of Old-World plague pandemics.
A new perspective on nuptial gifts from male mosquitoes
Recent research has uncovered new information about the steroid hormone that male anopheline mosquitoes pass on to females during mating.
Eye disease eliminated from The Gambia
Another good news story: a recent article in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases outlines the journey taken by The Gambia to reach the point where the WHO has… Read more »
Being afraid of the dark may be useful
A first line of defence against infection can take the form of avoidance behaviour. In the case of a species of fly that lives on desert cacti this means moving… Read more »
Could SARS-CoV-2 become a zoonosis?
Although the jury is still out regarding the origin of SARS-CoV-2, it is most likely to have originated in an animal reservoir. Whilst a new variant is rapidly… Read more »