New way to bump off ticks: Dry up their saliva

Saliva from a tick's bite can transmit pathogens that cause serious illnesses, such as Lyme disease, and significant agricultural losses. Current insecticides have drawbacks, so scientists have been seeking new ways to prevent ...

How the snake got its venom

The venom of advanced snakes is a mixture of dozens of different proteins and is an example of an evolutionary innovation – a novel trait that has arisen in a particular animal group and which has contributed to their success. ...

Parasite helps itself to sugar

Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite that causes sleeping sickness, is transmitted to mammals by the tsetse fly, and must adapt to the divergent metabolisms of its hosts. A new study shows how it copes with the frugal diet offered ...

Delivering a virus that gets rid of house flies

The house fly is often considered merely a nuisance. But these flies are capable of transmitting animal and human pathogens that can lead to foodborne diseases, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Shigella bacteria.

page 1 from 2