30/08/2016 Krisztian Magori

Coccidioidomycosis (aka “cocci”, or Valley Fever) is a fungal infection caused by two species of Coccidioides fungi, infecting thousands of people in the southwestern US, and parts of Mexico and Central and South America. Recently, the fungi was detected in south-central Washington, both in clinical isolates as well as soil samples. Below, I summarize what we know about this disease and the pathogens causing it, the new area of detection, and the potential next steps forward in protecting the public from these bothersome fungi.

26/08/2016 Srimathy Sriskantharajah

We talk to Filipe Dantas-Torres, winner of one of the 2016 Odile Bain Memorial Prizes, about his career to date, the inspiration behind his interest in parasitology and his thoughts on parasitology in Brazil.

23/08/2016 Krisztian Magori

On Friday, August 19, 2016, following the detection of local transmission of Zika virus on Miami Beach, the US CDC has suggested that pregnant women and their partners, if possible, should postpone any non-essential travel to any part of Miami-Dade county. Here, we summarize the current situation, how we got to this point, and what to expect in the coming months and years.

19/08/2016 Karina Mondragon-Shem

“[The situation in Aleppo] is devastating and overwhelming…the past few days have seen water systems, hospitals, warehouses, ambulance stations, public buildings, and civilian homes destroyed or damaged on all sides of the front lines”- International Committee of the Red Cross

16/08/2016 Hilary Hurd

An understanding of the blood feeding behaviour of biting insects such as mosquitoes is a major tool in the fight to control, and eventually eliminate, insect- transmitted diseases. Many studies have focussed on odours that attract malaria-transmitting mosquitoes to their hosts but chickens have now been shown to produce volatile chemicals that repel them.

12/08/2016 Anouk Gouvras

In early 2014, the European Centre of Diseases Prevention and Control reported cases of urogenital schistosomiasis in a group of German tourists with no history of travel to schistosome-endemic countries. Further cases were reported in France and pretty soon the evidence pointed to a river in Corsica as the site of infection.

09/08/2016 Hilary Hurd

Cultivated tomato plants are able to resist attack by the hair-like stems of dodder plants, whereas wild tomato plants cannot. New research has identified how the innate immune system of the cultivar is able to do this.

05/08/2016 Cara Macfarlane

Entomopathogenic nematodes are lethal parasites of insects which are used as biocontrol agents. While their effectiveness in the field has been variable, recent research has highlighted that temperature and age of infective juveniles modulate their host seeking behaviours.