This Week in Parasitism

The TWiP hosts solve the case of the Thai Woman With Red Bumps, and reveal that a master manipulator contacts ant brain tissue to control its behavior. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Imaging parasites in ant brain (Nat Rep) Brain worm turns ants into zombies (Nat Hist Museum) Hero: Giovanni Battista Grassi Im...

The TWiP professors solve the case of the Woman With Intracellular Ring Forms, and explore the role of Coxiella  and Rickettsia  endosymbionts in acquisition of Babesia  by ticks. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Endosymbionts and Babesia in ticks (Front Microbiol) Q fever with Robert Heintzen (TWiM Special) He...

The TWiP crew solves the case of the Ecuadorian with Immunodeficiency and Chronic Diarrhea, and discuss oral transmission of Chagas disease in mice. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Imaging Chagas after oral transmission (Sci Rep) NJ invasive species strike team and app Red Mother Hero: Angelo Dubini Image cred...

Justin joins the TWiP team to solve the case of the Gentleman with B cell Lymphoma, and consider the finding of Dracunculus species in river otters from Arkansas. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Guest: Justin Aaron Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Dracunculus  in river otters (J Parasitol) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 155 Case Study for...

Vincent and Daniel solve the case of the Man in the City with Groin Rash, catch up on the long backlog of email, and present a new case, possibly the most complex one yet on the show. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Bloodless malaria diagnostic (BBC) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 154 Case Study for TWiP 154 Daniel's colleague w...

Vincent and Daniel solve the case of the Panamanian Farmer with Three Weeks of Diarrhea, and discuss how microbes egested during bites of sand flies exacerbate the severity of leishmaniasis. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Sand fly microbes and leishmaniasis severity (Cell Host Micr) Letters read  on TWiP 153 Case Study for TWiP 153...

The TWiP peeps solve the case of the Panamanian Mother with Steatorrhea, and reveal new monoclonal antibodies that effectively block malarial infection. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Plasmodium immunity from injected sporozoites (Nature) New monoclonal prevents malaria infection (Nat Med) Parasite Hero: Carl...

The Podfessors solve the case of the Itchy Child from Panama, and discuss competition for blood in human malaria-helminth co-infections. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Competing for Blood (Ecol Letters) Parasite Hero: William C. Campbell Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 151 Case Study for TWiP 151 Woman in...

The TWiPers solve the case of the Panamanian Man With Leg Ulcer, and describe how a crab predator preferentially feeds on parasite infected prey - even though the parasite makes them faster! Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Parasite enhances susceptibility to predators (Oecologia) Parasite Hero: Miriam Rothschi...

Shivang joins the TWiP triumvirate to solve the case of the New Yorker With Rash and Pins and Needles, and reveal how agrochemicals increase risk of human schistosomiasis by causing high snail density. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Guest: Shivang Shah Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Even dinosaurs had parasites (Cosmos Mag) Why some people...

The TWiP-tologists solve the case of the South American Child With Belly Pain, and reveal how B1 cell IgE blocks parasite clearance by inhibiting mast cell activation by B2 cell IgE. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Do not eat raw earthworms ! (Pediatrics) Would you let worms in your veins? (Science) Guinea Pig...

The three amigos of parasitology solve the case of the New York Lawyer With A Foot Ulcer, and discuss a survey of rodents for the raccoon roundworm in California. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Monthly case studies (CDC) The Parasite on the Playground (NYTimes) Introduced rats and raccoon roundworm (J Parasit...

The TWIPniks solve the case of the Man With Diarrhea and 100 Micron Objects In Stool, and discuss the reticulocyte receptor for Plasmodium vivax . Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Reticulocyte receptor for Plasmodium vivax (Science) Image credit: Parasitic Diseases, 6th Ed. Parasite Heroine: Marietta Voge Lette...

The Estimados Profesores of TWIP solve the case of the Man With Motile Objects, and reveal the secreted and excreted proteins of Giardia parasites. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Excretory and secretory products of Giardia intestinalis (PLoS NTD) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 145 Case Study for TWiP 145...

The TWiPtomaniacs solve the case of the Boy With Visual Disturbances and Itching, and discuss identifying secreted and excreted proteins of Trichinella parasites. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Malaria plasmepsins involved in invasion and egress (Science) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 144 Case Study for...

The TWiPians solve the case of the Woman With Anemia, Eosinophila, and a Worm in Her Intestine, and discuss a study on the function and druggability of two malarial aspartate proteases. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Malaria plasmepsins involved in invasion and egress (Science) Letters read  on TWiP 143 Case...

The TWiPsids solve the case of the Guatemalan Positive for Rhinovirus, and reveal how to kill all African trypanosomes with a primate apolipoprotein. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: APOLs kill all African trypanosomes (Nat Micro) Trypanocidal properties of APOL1 on TWiP 85: Channeling tryps Letters read  on TW...

The TWiP Wataalamu solve the case of the One Year Old From Kenya With Moving Skin Lesions, and describe how to make mosquitoes refractory to Plasmodium with engineered symbiotic bacteria. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Engineered Serratia make mosquitoes refractory to Plasmodium (Science) Operation Sea Spray...

The triple TWiP solve the case of the Peace Corp Veteran with Eosinophilia, and discuss the genome sequence of the hyper-prevalent parasitic eukaryote Blastocystis . Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Genome diversity of Blastocystis (PLoS Biol) Photo credit Letters read  on TWiP 140 This episode is brought to yo...

The TWiPwalas solve the case of the Woman with a Worm in Her Eye, and discuss the role of nitric oxide in the resistance of rats to  Schistosoma japonicum. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Nitric oxide blocks schistosome development (PNAS) Photo credit: Dave the Sheep Shearer Letters read  on TWiP 139 This epis...

The TWiPsters solve the case of the Child from DR with Poppy Seed Sized Things On His Head Hair Shafts, and reveal how the skin parasite landscape determines the infectiousness of  Leishmania. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Tr (Cell Host Microbe) Letters read  on TWiP 138 This episode is brought to you by Blue Apron. Blue Apron is...

The TWiPtoids solve the case of the Man from India with a Neck Lump, and explore the role of a transmissible dysbiotic skin microbiome in inflammation during cutaneous leishmaniasis. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Transmissible dysbiotic skin microbiome in cutaneous leishmaniasis (Cell Host Microbe) Letters r...

The TWiP Titans solve the case of the Man from Queens with a Blister Burster, and explain the role of inflammatory monocytes during Leishmania infection of the skin. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: Inflammatory monocytes and skin Leishmania (PLoS Path) Dracunculiasis ( TWiP 37 ) Photo: Daniel using a LifeStraw...

Dickson returns to the TWiP hosts to solve the case of the Woman from Colorado With Loose Stools, and explain how single-sex infection with female Schistosoma mansoni reduces hepatic fibrosis. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and  Daniel Griffin Become a  patron  of TWiP. Links for this episode: ASM Grant Writing Online Course Single-sex Schistosoma infection (PLoS NTD) Asterix th...

Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Haitian Girl Who Failed To Thrive, and visit two studies that address the question of whether infection with Toxoplasma gondii alters human behavior. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello  and  Daniel Griffin   Links for this episode: ASM Grant Writing Online Course Is Toxoplasma infection related to brain and behavior impairments ? (PLoS One) Toxoplasma infection and...