PARASITES

11 Surprising Facts About Vampire Bats

Only three bat species, out of some 1100 in the world, actually have a taste for blood.

Bummer: A Brain-Infesting Worm in Rats Can Also Attack Humans

The CDC is giving people a very good reason to wash their produce.

A tongue-eating parasite is just one of the many charming wonders of nature.

Meet the Tongue-Eating Louse, Which Does Exactly What You Think It Does

The tongue-eating louse is a charming little isopod that likes to burrow into a fish's gills, settle in its mouth, then suck the blood out of its tongue until it falls off so that it can replace the organ and dine on the mucus.

Microscopic Wasps Will Help Stamp Out a Moth Infestation at Anne Boleyn’s Ancestral Home

It’s the ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ of the insect world, featuring a cameo by Anne Boleyn’s headless ghost.

Tokyo Is Home to a Museum Full of Parasites

The Merugo Parasitological Museum has more than 300 life-sucking species on display, including a 28.9-foot long tapeworm. It's got date night written all over it.

Reality Bites: A Humongous Tick That Chases Its Prey Has Been Found in the Netherlands

The non-native species doesn't wait for stationary hosts. It actively pursues them, scuttling over the ground to secure a blood meal.

A Psychotropic Fungus Is Eating Away Cicadas' Genitalia and Boosting Their Sex Drive

Even when two-thirds of their bodies are composed of fungal spores, the host cicadas continue to attempt mating in a drugged-out stupor.

6 Epidemics That Changed History

A mosquito-borne disease might be responsible for the Louisiana Purchase.

The Most Influential Parasite in History

By some estimates, malaria has killed half of everyone who has ever lived—and it almost took down one former president.

A New Study Argues a Cat Parasite Might Make You More Ambitious

The common parasite appears to influence human behavior.

Courtesy of Kari Kaunisto/Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku

This Super-Stinger Wasp Was Just Discovered in the Amazon

It paralyzes its victims before depositing eggs inside them so they can burst like a bomb later. What a charmer.

Hans Hillewaert, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.03

11 Body-Snatching Parasites

With the ability to control and even kill their hosts, each one of these parasites could star as the next terror of the silver screen.

New Test Can Differentiate Between Tick-borne Illnesses

Time is of the essence in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease.

German Doctors May Soon Prescribe Parasite Eggs

Helminthic therapy is unproven for many conditions and is currently illegal in most countries.

The Reason Some Frogs Grow Extra Legs

The culprit is parasites, not pollution.

New Study Finds No Link Between Childhood Cat Ownership and Psychosis

Contrary to prior reports, the new study found that living with a cat before birth or in childhood did not increase adolescents’ risk of experiencing psychotic episodes.