Parasitic Diseases

What's Eating You: 12 Common Intestinal Parasites - Medscape What's Eating You: 12 Common Intestinal Parasites - Medscape Posted: 25 Sep 2020 08:11 AM PDT Cestodes The life cycle of Echinococcus is shown above. Tapeworms are long, segmented worms of the class Cestoda, which includes the genera Taenia, Diphyllobothrium , Hymenolepis , Dipylidium , Echinococcus , and Spirometra . [1,2] Adult tapeworms lack an intestinal tract and absorb all nutrients through their integument. The adults have a head (termed a scolex), a neck, and a segmented body with both male and female gonads. [1] Tapeworms require one or more intermediate hosts in their life cycle. Typically, the eggs are passed from the host into the environment, where they are ingested by an intermediate host. In the intermediate host, the eggs hatch and the larvae enter the host tissues and encyst. The primary host then ingests the cysts by consuming the flesh of ...

Rope Worm: Intestinal Parasite or Mucus Buildup? - Healthline Rope Worm: Intestinal Parasite or Mucus Buildup? - Healthline Posted: 01 Jul 2020 12:00 AM PDT There are multiple types of intestinal parasites that can infect human beings, such as tapeworms , pinworms , hookworms , and more. In recent years, there's been discussion of another potential intestinal inhabitant called the rope worm. While some people believe that rope worms are intestinal parasites, the more plausible theory is that these "worms" are more likely strands of intestinal mucus. In this article, we'll discuss the literature on rope worms, including the parasite theory, intestinal mucus theory, and how to treat and prevent this gastrointestinal condition. The parasite theory of the rope worm is only a recent development. In 2013, a non-peer reviewed research paper was published by Dr. Alex Volinsky and his colleagues on the details of thi...

Transformative tools for parasitic flatworms - Science Transformative tools for parasitic flatworms - Science Posted: 24 Sep 2020 10:43 AM PDT Summary Schistosomes, a type of parasitic flatworm, are complex multicellular pathogens with an oversized and probably underestimated impact on human health. Schistosomiasis is one of the "neglected" tropical diseases, named in part because of a perceived lack of tools to probe parasite biology. On pages 1649 and 1644 of this issue, Wang et al. ( 1 ) and Wendt et al. ( 2 ), respectively, show that this neglect is unwarranted. With creative use of postgenomic and parasitological approaches, these authors uncover previously unknown aspects of schistosome biology, highlight avenues for intervention, and provide new resources for the field. Wang et al. report a loss-of-function screen that reveals numerous essential genes and identify small-molecule inhibitors of two kinases required for mu...

IISc start-up Equine Biotech develops affordable RT-PCR kit - ETHealthworld.com IISc start-up Equine Biotech develops affordable RT-PCR kit - ETHealthworld.com Posted: 26 Sep 2020 10:47 PM PDT Bengaluru: A start-up incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Equine Biotech, has developed an indigenous RT-PCR diagnostic kit for accurate and affordable diagnosis of Covid-19 . "The biggest advantage of Equine Biotech's 'Global TM diagnostic kit' is that it takes just around one-and-half hours to confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in samples," an IISc release said. Equine Biotech founder and Department of Biochemistry Professor Opal Taut said that the test kit based on Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is considered the gold standard for Covid-19 diagnosis. He said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had approved that for use in authorised diagnostic labs. According to him, rampi...

How worms and a parasite harm salmon on the Klamath River — and how a new data portal may help - Herald and News How worms and a parasite harm salmon on the Klamath River — and how a new data portal may help - Herald and News Posted: 27 Sep 2020 12:00 AM PDT Editor's note: In July, the Bureau of Reclamation pledged $1.2 million to fund new scientific initiatives that will inform the agency's management of the Klamath Project. This is the second in a series of articles explaining the past, present and future of that scientific research. The Klamath Basin used to be the third most important salmon-bearing watershed in the Pacific Northwest. Now, only a fraction of those runs remain. The multiple reasons for their decline are complex and interconnected, but they all have to do with how water moves through the system. One major contributor to Chinook and coho salmon's plight is a tiny parasite called Ceratonova sh...

COVID-19 'immunity boosting' products flying off store shelves rapidly, but does it work? Find out - The New Indian Express COVID-19 'immunity boosting' products flying off store shelves rapidly, but does it work? Find out - The New Indian Express Posted: 26 Sep 2020 04:30 PM PDT It probably was a no-brainer to the people at Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Research Institute, Panchayanpur, Uttarakhand, when they were told to work on an indigenous Ayurvedic antidote for the coronavirus. Since the virus was affecting weakened immune systems more, the obvious answer must have been, why not make a drug that contains Ayurvedic ingredients such as ashwagandha, giloy, tulsi and rudanti, and throw in a few minerals? The result was Coronil. Ramdev called it a breakthrough and claimed that successful clinical trials were conducted on 15-65-year-olds affected by the virus who were cured by the medicine. Soon Patanjali ...

Dozens learn how wiggly worms can help the environment - The Killeen Daily Herald Dozens learn how wiggly worms can help the environment - The Killeen Daily Herald Gary Brown: What possessed us to eat roots? - Canton Repository Rope Worm: Intestinal Parasite or Mucus Buildup? - Healthline Dozens learn how wiggly worms can help the environment - The Killeen Daily Herald Posted: 26 Sep 2020 12:00 PM PDT COPPERAS COVE — Around two dozen area residents gathered at the Copperas Cove Civic Center to learn the benefits of worms when it comes to fertilizing the soil. One Copperas Cove resident, Pamela Shelley-Dailey, said she likes to garden, but she did not realize the benefits of worms. "I had them in my yard before our move before," Shelley-Dailey said. "And I didn't realize what a good thing it was to actually include them in it." All residents who attended the class...