Pests and Parasites News
September 18, 2025
Top Headlines
Sep. 16, 2025 — Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have cracked open the secrets of plant stem cells, mapping key genetic regulators in maize and Arabidopsis. By using single-cell RNA sequencing, they created a gene expression atlas that identifies rare ...
Sep. 15, 2025 — Researchers discovered two new parasitic wasp species living in the U.S., tracing their origins back to Europe and uncovering clues about how they spread. Their arrival raises fresh questions about biodiversity, ecological risks, and the role of ...
Sep. 9, 2025 — Flathead catfish are rapidly reshaping the Susquehanna River’s ecosystem. Once introduced, these voracious predators climbed to the top of the food chain, forcing native fish like channel catfish and bass to shift diets and habitats. Using stable ...
Sep. 9, 2025 — Plants are spreading across the globe faster than ever, largely due to human activity, and new research shows that the very same traits that make plants thrive in their native lands also drive their success abroad. A study of nearly 4,000 European ...
Sep. 9, 2025 — Tiny ocean microbes called Prochlorococcus, once thought to be climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine food web. A decade of research shows they thrive ...
Sep. 8, 2025 — Tiny diatoms and their bacterial partners act as nature’s nutrient factories, fueling insects and salmon in California’s Eel River. Their pollution-free process could inspire breakthroughs in sustainable farming and ...
Aug. 24, 2025 — Ripple bugs’ fan-like legs inspired engineers to build the Rhagobot, a tiny robot with self-morphing fans. By mimicking these insects’ passive, ultra-fast movements, the robot gains speed, control, and endurance without extra ...
Aug. 23, 2025 — A new study reveals that the majority of Earth’s species stem from a few evolutionary explosions, where new traits or habitats sparked rapid diversification. From flowers to birds, these bursts explain most of the planet’s ...
Aug. 17, 2025 — Scientists have engineered a groundbreaking cancer treatment that uses bacteria to smuggle viruses directly into tumors, bypassing the immune system and delivering a powerful one-two punch against cancer cells. The bacteria act like Trojan horses, ...
Aug. 12, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a parasite that can sneak into your skin without you feeling a thing. The worm, Schistosoma mansoni, has evolved a way to switch off the body’s pain and itch signals, letting it invade undetected. By blocking certain ...
Aug. 9, 2025 — Over 300 million years ago, Illinois teemed with life in tropical swamps and seas, now preserved at the famous Mazon Creek fossil site. Researchers from the University of Missouri and geologist ...
Aug. 4, 2025 — Glasswing butterflies may all look alike, but behind their transparent wings hides an evolutionary story full of intrigue. Researchers discovered that while these butterflies appear nearly identical to avoid predators, they produce unique pheromones ...
Latest Headlines
updated 11:29am EDT
Sep. 16, 2025 — NASA’s Perseverance rover has delivered its most compelling clue yet in the search for life on Mars. A rock sample called “Sapphire Canyon,” ...
Sep. 15, 2025 — On remote islands of Papua New Guinea, people carry a story that ties us all back to our deepest roots. Although their striking appearance once puzzled scientists, new genetic evidence shows they ...
Sep. 14, 2025 — By analyzing tooth enamel chemistry, scientists uncovered proof that Jurassic dinosaurs divided up their meals in surprising ways—some choosing buds and leaves, others woody bark, and still others ...
Sep. 14, 2025 — Sweetpotato, a critical food crop for millions, has finally had its genetic code fully decoded after decades of mystery. Scientists unraveled its extraordinarily complex genome of six chromosome ...
Sep. 13, 2025 — Not all barnacles just sit on rocks and ships. Some invade crabs, growing like a parasitic root system that hijacks their bodies. A mysterious group called y-larvae has baffled scientists for over a ...
Sep. 5, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered microbial DNA preserved in mammoth remains dating back more than one million years, revealing the oldest host-associated microbial DNA ever recovered. By sequencing nearly ...
Sep. 1, 2025 — Young orangutans master the art of building intricate treetop nests not by instinct alone, but by closely watching their mothers and peers. Researchers tracking wild Sumatran orangutans over 17 years ...
Aug. 29, 2025 — Scientists have created glow-in-the-dark succulents that can recharge with sunlight and shine for hours, rivaling small night lights. Unlike costly and complex genetic engineering methods, this ...
Aug. 27, 2025 — Bumble bees aren’t random foragers – they’re master nutritionists. Over an eight-year field study in the Colorado Rockies, scientists uncovered that different bee species strategically balance ...
Aug. 23, 2025 — Scientists have developed a breakthrough food supplement that could help save honeybees from devastating declines. By engineering yeast to produce six essential sterols found in pollen, researchers ...
Earlier Headlines
Aug. 2, 2025 — Long before evolution equipped them with the right teeth, early humans began eating tough grasses and starchy underground plants—foods rich in energy but hard to chew. A new study reveals that this ...
Aug. 1, 2025 — About 9 million years ago, a wild interspecies fling between tomato-like plants and potato relatives in South America gave rise to one of the world’s most important crops: the potato. Scientists ...
Aug. 4, 2025 — An intriguing new study reveals that over 80% of parasites found in the ancient poo of New Zealand’s endangered kākāpō have vanished, even though the bird itself is still hanging on. Researchers ...
July 30, 2025 — Scientists have used artificial intelligence to upgrade plant immune systems, potentially revolutionizing how crops like tomatoes and potatoes can defend against harmful bacteria. By reengineering ...
Aug. 9, 2025 — The newly described Mirasaura grauvogeli from the Middle Triassic had a striking feather-like crest, hinting that complex skin appendages arose far earlier than previously believed. Its bird-like ...
July 26, 2025 — A groundbreaking study has revealed that the mass administration of ivermectin—a drug once known for treating river blindness and scabies—can significantly reduce malaria transmission when used ...
July 24, 2025 — Half a billion years ago, a strange sea-dwelling creature called Mollisonia symmetrica may have paved the way for modern spiders. Using detailed fossil brain analysis, researchers uncovered neural ...
July 21, 2025 — Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. ...
July 29, 2025 — A team at the University of Florida used drones and smart modeling to accurately count over 41,000 endangered turtles nesting along the Amazon’s Guaporé River—revealing the world’s largest ...
July 17, 2025 — Dogs trained by everyday pet owners are proving to be surprisingly powerful allies in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly. In a groundbreaking study, citizen scientists taught their ...
July 16, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that a protein once thought to be just a cellular "courier" actually helps plants survive drought. This motor protein, myosin XI, plays a critical role in helping ...
July 15, 2025 — High in Fiji s rainforest, the ant plant Squamellaria grows swollen tubers packed with sealed, single-door apartments. Rival ant species nest in these chambers, fertilizing their host with ...
July 12, 2025 — A cat named Pepper has once again helped scientists discover a new virus—this time a mysterious orthoreovirus found in a shrew. Researchers from the University of Florida, including virologist John ...
July 11, 2025 — In a bold step toward sustainable space travel, scientists are engineering a radically small, protein-rich rice that can grow in space. The Moon-Rice project, led by the Italian Space Agency in ...
July 9, 2025 — Climate change is silently sapping the nutrients from our food. A pioneering study finds that rising CO2 and higher temperatures are not only reshaping how crops grow but are also degrading their ...
July 3, 2025 — When Siberian volcanoes kicked off the Great Dying, the real climate villain turned out to be the rainforests themselves: once they collapsed, Earth’s biggest carbon sponge vanished, CO₂ ...
July 4, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that the bacteria behind Lyme disease and anaplasmosis have a sneaky way of surviving inside ticks—they hijack the tick’s own cell functions to steal cholesterol they ...
July 7, 2025 — Danish and Welsh botanists sifted through 400 studies, field-tested seed mixes, and uncovered a lineup of native and exotic blooms that both thrill human eyes and lure bees and hoverflies in droves, ...
June 26, 2025 — Cats overwhelmingly choose to sleep on their left side, a habit researchers say could be tied to survival. This sleep position activates the brain’s right hemisphere upon waking, perfect for ...
June 25, 2025 — Two newly discovered viruses lurking in bats are dangerously similar to Nipah and Hendra, both of which have caused deadly outbreaks in humans. Found in fruit bats near villages, these viruses may ...
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Monday, June 16, 2025
- Cluck Once, and the River Shakes: Inside the Amazon’s Giant Snake Saga
- 600-Million-Year-Old Body Blueprint Found in Sea Anemones
Saturday, June 14, 2025
- Fruit-Eating Mastodons? Ancient Fossils Confirm a Long-Lost Ecological Alliance
- Africa's Pangolin Crisis: The Delicacy That's Driving a Species to the Brink
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Sunday, June 15, 2025
- Tiny Wasp’s Shocking Reproductive Trick May Transform Global Agriculture
- 83% of Earth’s Climate-Critical Fungi Are Still Unknown
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
- What a Dinosaur Ate 100 Million Years ago—Preserved in a Fossilized Time Capsule
- How Madagascar’s Lizards Became the Island’s Last Hope for Reforestation
- Scientists Reveal the Hidden Pause That Keeps Bee Colonies Alive
Friday, June 6, 2025
- Scientists Find Immune Molecule That Supercharges Plant Growth
- Scientists Uncover 230 Giant Ocean Viruses That Hijack Photosynthesis
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
- Two Plant Species Invent the Same Chemically Complex and Medically Interesting Substance
- Large-Scale Immunity Profiling Grants Insights Into Flu Virus Evolution
Monday, June 2, 2025
Friday, May 30, 2025
Thursday, May 29, 2025
- Leprosy Existed in America Long Before Arrival of Europeans
- Evolution of a Single Gene Allowed the Plague to Adapt, Survive and Kill Much of Humanity Over Many Centuries
- 'Future-Proofing' Crops Will Require Urgent, Consistent Effort
- Living Libraries Could Save Our Food
- How Does Coffee Affect a Sleeping Brain?
- HIV Discovery Could Open Door to Long-Sought Cure
- Cotton Virus Circulated Undetected for Nearly 20 Years, Study Finds
- Cannabis Pangenome Reveals Potential for Medicinal and Industrial Use
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
- Trees Vs. Disease: Tree Cover Reduces Mosquito-Borne Health Risk
- Too Much of a Good Thing: Consequences of Overplanting Bt Corn in the US
- Kinetic Coupling -- Breakthrough in Understanding Biochemical Networks
- Bed Bugs Are Most Likely the First Human Pest, New Research Shows
- New Velvet Worm Species a First for the Arid Karoo
- Genetic Deep Dive Dispels Fear of Hybrid Worm Threat
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
- Zika Virus Uses Cells' 'self-Care' System to Turn Against Host
- Nordic Studies Show the Significance of Old-Growth Forests for Biodiversity
- Stirling Research Could Extend Biopesticide Effectiveness
Monday, May 26, 2025
- A Root Development Gene That's Older Than Root Development
- Flowers Unfold With Surprising Precision, Despite Unruly Genes
Friday, May 23, 2025
- Mystery of 'very Odd' Elasmosaur Finally Solved: Fiercely Predatory Marine Reptile Is New Species
- Earliest Use of Psychoactive and Medicinal Plant 'harmal' Identified in Iron Age Arabia
- Modulation of Antiviral Response in Fungi Via RNA Editing
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- Ancient DNA Used to Map Evolution of Fever-Causing Bacteria
- 'Selfish' Genes Called Introners Proven to Be a Major Source of Genetic Complexity
- How Cholera Bacteria Outsmart Viruses
- Ox-Eye Daisy, Bellis and Yarrow: Flower Strips With at Least Two Sown Species Provide 70 Percent More Natural Enemies of Pests
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- Plant Cell Sculptors
- Bed-Netting Prototypes to Target Malaria-Causing Parasites
- Can Plants Hear Their Pollinators?
- Why Some Spiders Are More Venomous Than Others
- Unlocking the Secrets of Bat Immunity
- Natural Algal Communities Can Inhibit Aquaculture Pathogens
- Toothache from Eating Something Cold? Blame These Ancient Fish
- A New Technology for Extending the Shelf Life of Produce
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- On the Origin (and Fate) of Plants That Never Bloom
- New Research Reveals Puff Adders as an Important Conservation and Rodent Control Solution
- Advanced Genomics Study Improves Detection of Hard-to-Find Diarrheal Infections
- Asian Elephants Have Larger Brains Than Their African Relatives
- Wild Spinach Offers Path to Breed Disease Resistance Into Cultivated Varieties
- Why Some Viral Infections Appear to Trigger Autoimmune Disease
- Native Turtles Return to Yosemite After Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs
- Thousands of Animal Species Threatened by Climate Change
Monday, May 19, 2025
- Bees Facing New Threats, Putting Our Survival and Theirs at Risk
- Genomic Data Shows Widespread Mpox Transmission in West Africa Prior to 2022 Global Outbreak
- Survival Trick: Pathogen Taps Iron Source in Immune Cells
- First-of-Its-Kind Global Study Shows Grasslands Can Withstand Climate Extremes With a Boost of Nutrients
- Family of Parasite Proteins Presents New Potential Malaria Treatment Target
- How Did Plants Evolve the Ability to Transport Massive Amounts of Protein Into Seed Vacuoles?
Friday, May 16, 2025
Thursday, May 15, 2025
- Two HIV Vaccine Trials Show Proof of Concept for Pathway to Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies
- World's Largest Bat Organoid Platform Paves the Way for Pandemic Preparedness
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
- Artificial Intelligence and Genetics Can Help Farmers Grow Corn With Less Fertilizer
- Europe's Forest Plants Thrive Best in Light-Rich, Semi-Open Woodlands -- Kept Open by Large Herbivores
- Light-Driven Cockroach Cyborgs Navigate Without Wires or Surgery
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
- Growth Before Photosynthesis: How Trees Regulate Their Water Balance
- 'Loop'hole: HIV-1 Hijacks Human Immune Cells Using Circular RNAs
Monday, May 12, 2025
- Measles Virus Detected in Houston Wastewater Before Cases Were Reported
- Invasive Salmon, Clams and Seaweed Are Next Threats to Biodiversity in Britain
- Microbial 'phosphorus Gatekeeping' Found at Center of Study Exploring 700,000 Years of Iconic Coastline
- The Kids Are Hungry: Juvenile European Green Crabs Just as Damaging as Adults