Lung flukes, Hematoloechus sp., are pesky little parasites. Up to 89 species of lung flukes have been identified to date. Their life cycle includes two intermediate hosts, the first of which are freshwater snails that swallow fluke eggs. After ingestion, the eggs hatch and produce a larval form of the parasite called cercaria, which are shed from the snails and taken up by damselflies or dragonflies. These are quite the […]
Dr. Rudolf Schilder (Penn State University) presented a poster yesterday reporting that male dragonflies (Libellula pulchella) are developing infection-induced metabolic disease that is similar to type 2 diabetes and obesity in vertebrates. The culprit? A protozoan parasite in the animal’s gut. It makes you wonder if parasites may be to blame for some metabolic disease cases in humans…
Researchers have known that some lizards have green blood due to bile pigments: In fact, six species of lizards found in New Guinea are known to have green blood. The levels of bile found in their blood are four times higher than the toxic level for humans. New research shows that green blood evolved independently 4 times in evolutionary history. These findings suggest that high levels of circulating green bile […]
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 