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Parasitology is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of the biology of parasites and parasitic diseases, including the distribution, biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, evolution and clinical aspects of parasites, including the host response to these agents.
Guan et al. identify a male gametocyte-specific RNA-binding protein RBPm1 in the malaria parasite. RBPm1 controls the intron splicing of axonemal genes. RBPm1- deficient parasites fail to assemble the axoneme for male gametogenesis and thus mosquito transmission of Plasmodium.
Mosquito biting preferences and their impact on malaria transmission are not well understood. Here, the authors report findings from a longitudinal cohort study in Western Kenya which show that males aged 5-15 years tend to be bitten the most, and infectious mosquitoes appear to be more likely to bite infected individuals.
A metagenomic analysis of 1,142 field-collected Anopheles gambiae mosquito specimens by the Microsoft Premonition Bayesian mixture model pipeline revealed a diverse set of vertebrate hosts, as well as the presence of Plasmodium parasites and other microbes.
Wang et al. show that Toxoplasma gondii translation initiation factor eIF1.2 is critical for acute to chronic stage transition during infection, underscoring the importance of protein translation in controlling stage differentiation.
Tens of millions of people have female genital schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease that few physicians have even heard of. Efforts are under way to move it out of obscurity and empower women and girls to access sexual and reproductive health care.
As Earth warms, the creatures that spread neglected tropical diseases are gaining a foothold in Europe. Wealthy countries must prepare themselves for more cases.