This Week in Parasitism

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiPlets solve the sad case of the Boy Who Went Swimming, and explain why the tomato is resistant to the plant parasite  Cuscuta . Links for this episode: Detection of plant parasite by a  tomato receptor  (Science) Dodder  (Wikipedia) Mixed messages  (TWiP 77) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 115 This episode is sponsored...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiP troika solve the case of the Female from the Bronx, and reveal how feeding on different plants affects mosquito capacity to transmit malaria. Links for this episode: Plant mediated effects  on malaria transmission (PLoS Path) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 114 This episode is sponsored by  CuriosityStream ,  a subsc...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Guest:  Jason Zucker The TWiP ternion solve the case of the Man from Mexico, and discuss a transgenic toxoplasma vaccine for chickens using  Eimeria tenella . Links for this episode: Transgenic  Eimeria  as a  toxoplasma vaccine  (Sci Rep) Image shows cysticercus of  T. solium  in brain (Parasitic Diseases, 5th Ed) Letters read...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiP trio solve the case of the Woman from Washington Heights, and reveal how helminth infection protects mice deficient in the Crohn's disease gene NOD2 from intestinal disease by inhibiting colonization with an inflammatory bacterial species.   Subscribe to TWiP (free) in  iTunes , by the  RSS feed  or by  email Links for...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiP trio solve the case of the bug bites all in a row, and talk about a secreted Toxoplasma protein that is central to the parasite's manipulation of host cells.   Subscribe to TWiP (free) in  iTunes ,  Google Play Music , by the  RSS feed  or by  email Links for this episode: Pigeon mites feed on humans at night (EPA) Secre...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello , Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Guest: Paul Calle The TWiP trio visit the Bronx Zoo where Paul solves the case of the Four Year Old with Pulmonary Edema, and talks about his career as the Chief Veterinarian and Director of the Zoological Health program for the Wildlife Conservation Society.   Links for this episode: Bronx Zoo Avian malaria (Wikipedia) Letters r...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello  and Daniel Griffin Guest: Paul Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Truck Driver from India, discuss why parasites resistant to an antimalarial drug are not transmitted by mosquitoes, and introduce Paul who presents a new case study.   Links for this episode: Atovaquone resistant parasites  not transmitted by mosquitoes  (Science) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The case of the Man from Assam is solved, and phagocytosis of Leishmania by B-1 cells is brought to you by the  Three Twipeteers  on this episode of TWiP.   Subscribe to TWiP (free) in  iTunes ,  Google Play Music , by the  RSS feed  or by  email Links for this episode: Kalazar detect  (pdf) Phagocytosis  of  Leishmania  promast...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiPtastic trio solves the case of the Surfer from Switzerland, and reveal how taste-chemosensory tuft cells in the gut regulate immune responses to parasites. Links for this episode: Taste-chemosensory cells  and parasite gut immunity (Science) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 107 This episode is sponsored by  ASM Agar Ar...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiP triumvirate solves the case of the Missionary in Kenya, and review the finding of a soldier caste in flatworms that parasitize snails. Links for this episode: Social organization in parasitic flatworms (J Parasitol) Image credit Letters read  on TWiP 106 This episode is sponsored by ASM Agar Art Contest  Case study for...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiPanosomes solve the case of the Young Man from Anchorage, and discuss how cestode parasites increase the resistance of brine shrimp to arsenic toxicity. Links for this episode: Trichinella life cycle ( pdf ) When parasites are good for health (PLoS Path) The Origin of AIDS by Jacques Pepin Letters read  on TWiP 105  Case...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Guest: Michael Libman Michael returns to help the TWiP trio solve the case of the Delusional African Expatriate, and discuss the association of natural and induced antibodies in mice with differential susceptibility to secondary cystic echinococcosis. Links for this episode: T. brucei life cycle ( pdf ) Natural and induced antib...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Guest:  Michael Libman The TWiP-scholars solve the case of the Housewife from Kolkata, discuss mutations in the IL17 gene associated with cerebral malaria, and hear a case presentation from guest Michael Libman.   Links for this episode: IL-17 mutations and risk of  cerebral malaria  (Inf and Imm) Echinococcosis  (CDC) Echinococ...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiPyzoites solve the case of the Uncommon Parasite, and discuss the role of eosinophils in promoting the growth of  Trichinella  in skeletal muscle.   Links for this episode: Eosinophils and IL-4 support  nematode growth  (PLoS Path) Balantidiasis  (CDC) Letters read  on TWiP 102  Case study for TWiP 102 This week's case  i...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The doctors TWiP solve the case of the Woman with White Worms, and explain the role of a secreted growth factor from a carcinogenic parasite in wound healing and angiogenesis.   Links for this episode: Wound healing  growth factor  from carcinogenic parasite (PLoS Path) Opisthorchis  (CDC) Opisthorchis   life cycle  (CDC) Image...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin The TWiP trifecta solves the case of the Woman from Bolivia with Belly Pain, and discuss a method for population modification of malaria mosquitoes using a Cas9-mediated driver gene. Links for this episode: Cas9-mediated drive  for population modification of malaria mosquito (PNAS) FAQ: Gene drives  (pdf) Image credit Letters re...

The TWiP trifecta solves the case of the Professor Who Went to Brazil, and discuss an amazing case of a tapeworm that turned into a tumor in an AIDS patient. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin   Links for this episode: Do young doctors need  more sleep?  (Slate) H. nana  tumor  in AIDS patient (NEJM) Hymenolepiasis  (CDC) H. nana   lifecycle  (CDC/Wikipedia) Imag...

The TWiP-lets reveal  Balamuthia  infection in the Children from Peru, and discuss resistance to pyrethroids revealed by RNA sequencing of  Anopheles  mosquitoes. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Links for this episode: Balamuthia  (CDC) Pyrethroid  resistance  in  Anopheles  (Parasit Vectors) Voltage-gated  sodium channels Pyrethroid  (Wikipedia) Image credit...

The paratenic hosts reveal a case of scabies in the Traveling Salesman, and discuss a role for natural antibody in protection from infection with  Plasmodium . Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin   Links for this episode: Parasite  Nobel Prizes 2015 Ivermectin  story (Nat Rev Micro) Ivermectin  target  (Brain Res) Gut microbiota and  Plasmodium  protection  (Cell)...

The TWiPanosomes solve the case about the Young Woman who Went to Belize, and relate how sandfly saliva skews the immune response and increases risk of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin   Links for this episode: Sandfly exposure  and risk of cutaneous leishmaniasis (J Inf Dis) TWiP 14:  Leishmania Image is  L. longipalpis  ( credit ) Let...

Vincent, Dickson, and Daniel solve the case about the 33 year old Chinese male with watery diarrhea, and discuss whether arsenic in drinking water might lead to treatment failures for  Leishmania  infections. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Links for this episode: TWiP 17:  Entamoeba histolytica Arsenic exposure  and  Leishmania  treatment outcomes (PLoS NTD)...

Vincent, Dickson, and Daniel solve the case about the man from El Salvador, discuss the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors to treat onchocerciasis and filariasis. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Links for this episode: Targeting filarial  tyrosine kinases  (J Inf Dis) Onchocerciasis on  TWiP 24 Filariasis on TWiP  TWiP 25 Image shows c-abl kinase bound to imati...

Vincent, Dickson, and Daniel solve their fishy tale, and present a new case study for your consumption. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Links for this episode: Freezing and the  quality of sushi  (Clin Inf Dis) Anisakis  biology  (CDC) Image credit Letters read   on TWiP 93 Case study for TWiP 92   April 2015 a 177 lb 5ft10in 39 yo man seen as outpatient in ID...

Vincent, Dickson, and Daniel discuss how fluctuation in the price of guinea pig food could help transmission of the agent of Chagas disease, and present a new case study for your consumption. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Links for this episode: Ascaris on  TWiP 21 Ascaris lumbricoides  life cycle ( jpg ) Child with distended abdomen due to Ascaris ( jpg ) B...

Vincent, Dickson, and Daniel review how Viagra might be used to block transmission of  Plasmodium falciparum , and introduce a new case study. Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Dickson Despommier , and Daniel Griffin Links for this episode: Malaria life cycle ( jpg ) cAMP regulates gametocyte infected  erythrocyte deformability  (PLoS Path) P. falciparum  in  bone marrow  (Blood) Image credit Letters...