This Week in Parasitism

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson discuss Myxobolus cerebralis, the parasite that causes whirling disease of salmonids. Links for this episode: Myxobolus cerebralis (Wikipedia) Fish migration (Wikipedia) Trout with whirling disease (YouTube) Letters read on TWiP 55 Listener Pick Amanda - Pandemic: On the Brink Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv Subscribe (free) Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, by the RSS feed or by email

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson reveal how invasive harlequin ladybirds use biological weapons against their competitors. Links for this episode: Invasive Harlequin Ladybirds' biological weapon (Science) Immunity an invasive success (Science) Invading ladybugs carry bioweapons (C&EN) Ladybird Ladybird (Wikipedia) G. Evelyn Hutchinson (Wikipedia) Letters read on TWiP 55 Dickson's Pick An Inordinate Fondess for Beetles by Arthur V. Evans, Charles L. Bellamy Listener Pick Jessie - Pandemic, the board game Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson consider a case history of a young man with Blastocystis hominis - is it causing his disease? Links for this episode: Blastocystis (Wikipedia) Blastocystis review (Trends Parasitol) Letters read on TWiP 54 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv Subscribe (free) Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, by the RSS feed or by email

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson discuss the finding that immunity to a sandfly salivary protein protects against fatal visceral leishmaniasis in hamsters. Links for this episode: Immunity to a salivary protein protects against leishmaniasis (PNAS) Image of blood-fed Lutzomyia longipalpis (right) credit Short history of Leishmania vaccines Leishmania on TWiP #14 Letters read on TWiP 53 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson review the life cycle and pathogenesis of the giant kidney worm, Dioctophyme renale. Links for this episode: Dioctophymiasis (CDC) Dioctophyme renale (Wikipedia) Fatal bilateral dioctophymiasis (J Parasitol) Clinical Parasitology by Paul C. Beaver D. renale in a dog (Vet. Parasitol.) Surgical removal of D. renale (YouTube) Letters read on TWiP 52 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Guest: Anthony A. James Special guest Anthony A. James joins Vincent and Dickson to discuss how mosquitoes can be genetically modified to control infectious diseases. Links for this episode: Field cage studies of modified mosquitoes (PLoS NTD) Flightless mosquitoes (PNAS) When mutant mosquitoes attack (NY Times) Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson reveal how malaria parasites avoid lysis by complement in the mosquito. Links for this episode: Malaria parasites co-opt factor H (Cell Host Microbe) Complement system (Wikipedia) Letters read on TWiP 50 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson discuss innate immune sensing of Toxoplasma gondii in mice, and heme metabolism in protozoan parasites. Links for this episode: Sensing Toxoplasma in mice (Cell Host Microbe) Make it, take it, or leave it (PLoS Path) Heme (Wikipedia) Letters read on TWiP 49 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Josef Sabo Vincent, Dickson, and Josef discuss tetraspanins on the surface of schistosomes as vaccine candidates and immune evasion proteins. Links for this episode: S. japonicum tetraspanin-2 as a vaccine target (PLoS NTP) Protection with S. mansoni tetraspanin-2 (PLoS NTP) S. mansoni tetraspanins confer protection (Nat Med) Tetraspanins Letters read on TWiP 48 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv. Subscribe (free) Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, by the RSS feed or by email

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson review evidence that a virus of the protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis may exacerbate disease. Links for this episode: Endobiont viruses sensed by the human host (PLoS One) Letters read on TWiP 47 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv