Pests and Parasites News

April 27, 2025

Top Headlines

Tackling Parasite Devastating Fish Farmers Around the World

Apr. 22, 2025 — At the heart of the Amazon researchers are investigating a mysterious parasite which is devastating fish farms around the ...

Evidence of Potential Bed Bug Insecticide Resistance in Gene Mutation

Apr. 22, 2025 — Urban entomologists have discovered a gene mutation that could contribute to bed bug insecticide ...

How Bacteria Use Sneaky Chemistry to Disable Plant Defenses

Apr. 21, 2025 — In the microscopic battlefield of plant-microbe interactions, plants are constantly fighting off invading bacteria. New research reveals just how clever these bacterial invaders can ...

Immune System Proteins Involved in Severe Parasitic Disease Identified

Apr. 21, 2025 — New insights into the mechanisms that cause more severe cases of schistosomiasis -- a disease caused by parasitic worms and second only to malaria in terms of potential harm -- have been ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:49pm EDT

Even Sublethal Insecticide Dose May Disrupt Pollinator Mating Process

Apr. 21, 2025 — Insecticides can help protect crops against troublesome pests, but they also pose a risk for beneficial insects such as pollinators. A new study provided insight into how even sublethal doses of ...

Disrupting 'Communication' With Plants Could Limit Soybean Cyst Nematode Infections

Apr. 18, 2025 — A new study opens new avenues for combating soybean cyst nematodes, the most damaging pest for U.S. soybean ...

To Avoid Parasites, Some Fruit Flies Sacrifice Sleep

Apr. 14, 2025 — Some fruit flies sacrifice sleep to avoid parasites like mites. Researchers discovered marked differences in gene expression related to metabolism in the hypervigilant ...

A Mysterious Pathogen: Oropouche Virus More Common in Latin America Than Previously Thought

Apr. 14, 2025 — Like the dengue and Zika viruses, Oropouche virus causes a febrile illness. There are recent indications that infections during pregnancy can cause ...

Declining Insect Biodiversity in the Tropics

Apr. 8, 2025 — Ecologists are investigating the decline of insect populations in the world's tropical forests. Insects, the most abundant and diverse group of animals on Earth, are experiencing alarming declines, ...

Rain Barrel Basics: Conserving Water but Not Mosquito Habitats

Apr. 7, 2025 — Researchers surveyed residential rain barrels to determine how often mosquitoes took up residence in rain barrels and what preventative measures would most effectively keep mosquitoes out. Taking ...

The New Season of The Last of Us Has a Spore-Ting Chance at Realism

Apr. 7, 2025 — The Last of Us is back on April 13 and this season is more realistic than ever. The trailer for the hit HBO series appears to show the 'zombie fungus' cordyceps infecting humans by releasing ...

Researchers Discover Way to Predict Treatment Success for Parasitic Skin Disease

Apr. 7, 2025 — Findings from a new study could help doctors select more effective treatments earlier for patients suffering from leishmaniasis, a disfiguring skin ...

Discovery of Bacteria's Defense Against Viruses Becomes a Piece of the Puzzle Against Resistance

Apr. 4, 2025 — Antibiotic resistance is a global health challenge that could overtake cancer mortality within a few decades. In a new study, researchers show that ...

How a Small Number of Mutations Can Fuel Outbreaks of Western Equine Encephalitis Virus

Apr. 4, 2025 — New research shows how small shifts in the molecular makeup of a virus can profoundly alter its fate. These shifts could turn a deadly pathogen into ...

Picky Eaters by Day, Buffet by Night: Butterfly, Moth Diets Sync to Plant Aromas

Apr. 3, 2025 — The scent of blooming flowers and fresh plant life is not just a perk of springtime; it is a key driver in the survival and evolution of butterflies and moths. New research reveals how the daily ...

Plant Doctor: An AI System That Watches Over Urban Trees Without Touching a Leaf

Apr. 2, 2025 — Monitoring urban plant health traditionally requires extensive manual labor and botanical expertise, creating challenges for cities facing expanding green spaces, higher population densities, and ...

Migrating Flies Vital for People and Nature

Apr. 2, 2025 — Buzzing insects may be seen as pests -- but globally, hundreds of fly species migrate over long distances, with major benefits for people and nature, new research ...

Understanding the Immune Response to a Persistent Pathogen

Mar. 28, 2025 — Researchers show that the immune system can recognize and control the latent stage of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, a finding that can inform the study of latency in other infections of the nervous ...

Nature's Viny Vampire: Discovering What Drives Parasitic Cuscuta Campestris

Mar. 27, 2025 — Researchers have discovered the mechanism that drives the parasitic vine Cuscuta campestris to insert organs into plants after making contact with the ...

Park Entrances May Be Hotspots for Infective Dog Roundworm Eggs

Mar. 27, 2025 — In an analysis of soil samples from twelve parks in Dublin, Ireland, park entrances were more heavily contaminated with infective roundworm eggs than any other tested park ...

Rare Disease Drug Nitisinone Makes Human Blood Deadly to Mosquitoes

Mar. 26, 2025 — A study found when patients take the drug nitisinone, their blood becomes deadly to ...

Getting Hit by Lightning Is Good for Some Tropical Trees

Mar. 26, 2025 — Getting zapped with millions of volts of electricity may not sound like a healthy activity, but for some trees, it is. A new study reports that some tropical tree species are not only able to ...

How Zika Virus Knocks out Our Immune Defenses

Mar. 25, 2025 — This research comes as many mosquito-borne viruses are spreading ...

Insecticides May Contribute to Bigger Problems With Certain Weeds

Mar. 25, 2025 — Insecticides may help growers hoping to protect their crops from harmful insects, but they also may contribute to a larger amount of some weeds, according to a new ...

New Eye Drops Slow Vision Loss in Animals

Mar. 21, 2025 — Researchers have developed eye drops that extend vision in animal models of a group of inherited diseases that lead to progressive vision loss in humans, known as retinitis ...

Plant Patch Can Detect Stress Signals in Real Time

Mar. 19, 2025 — Environmental conditions can cause damaging stress to plants, posing challenges for home gardeners and farmers. Therefore, early detection -- before leaves visibly discolor, wilt or wither -- is ...

Protecting Crops: Researchers Open Up New Avenue to Combat a Widespread Plant Virus

Mar. 18, 2025 — New RNA-based active agents reliably protect plants against the Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), the most common virus in agriculture and horticulture. They were developed by researchers at the Martin ...

Natural Insect Predators May Serve as Allies in Spotted Lanternfly Battle

Mar. 18, 2025 — Insect predators found in the United States could help keep spotted lanternfly populations in check while potentially reducing reliance on chemical control methods, according to a new ...

New Discovery in Plant-Pest Warfare Could Lead to Sustainable Farming Solutions

Mar. 17, 2025 — Overuse of chemical pesticides has driven resistance in agricultural pests, including the adaptable two-spotted spider mite. Researchers have discovered novel elicitor proteins, Tet3 and Tet4, in ...

Researchers Demonstrate New Technique for Boosting Plant Growth With Bacteria

Mar. 17, 2025 — Researchers have demonstrated a technique for successfully encapsulating bacteria that can then be stored and applied to plants to improve plant growth and protect against pests and pathogens. The ...

Antigenic Variation: Decoding the Mechanism Controlling Antigen Activation in Trypanosomes

Mar. 13, 2025 — A new study shows how pathogens control changes in their cell surface to evade the immune ...

Researchers Use a 'Trojan Horse' Approach to Develop New Antimalarial Drugs

Mar. 5, 2025 — Antimalarial drug resistance is a pressing issue in combating the spread of malaria worldwide. In a new study, researchers discovered a key process where malarial parasites take up a human blood cell ...

Midwestern Field Trials Suggest Overuse of Rootworm-Resistant Corn Reduces Farmers' Profits

Feb. 27, 2025 — An analysis of data covering 12 years and 10 U.S. Corn Belt states reveals that farmers suffer economic loss from the over-application of genetically engineered corn designed to combat rootworm ...

Discovery of a Common 'Weapon' Used by Disease-Causing Fungi Could Help Engineer More Resilient Food Crops

Feb. 27, 2025 — The discovery of a powerful 'weapon' used by many disease-causing fungi to infect and destroy major food crop staples, such as rice and corn, could offer new strategies to bolster global ...