This Week In Parasitism

Vincent and Dickson review how sickle cell microRNAs contribute to malaria resistance, and inhibition of innate immune responses by an enzyme from trypanosomes. Links for this episode: microRNAs involved in sickle cell resistance to Plasmodium (Cell Host Microbe) Trypanosome adenylate cyclases modulate innate immune response (Science) Letters read on TWiP 43 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson answer listener emails about Leishmania, dual infection of vectors, tapeworms, liver flukes, toxoplasmosis, and much more. Links for this episode: Metabolic pathways required by Leishmania (Ann Rev Micro) Tapeworms in people's brains (Carl Zimmer) Poison Ivy Bovine tuberculosis disguised by liver fluke (Nature) Giant kidney worm (YouTube) Crowd-sourced games for telepathology Ivermectin for alcohol abuse Ivermectin and alcohol abuse in mice (Neuropharm) Etymology of Loa Worm removed from man's eye (BBC) Ticks keep on ticking (PLoS One article) Letters read on TWiP 42 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson review medically important arthropods. Links for this episode: Thomas Eisner Incomplete metamorphosis in insects (jpg) Complete metamorphosis in an insect with aquatic immature stages (jpg) Complete metamorphosis in an insect with terrestrial immature stages (jpg) Letters read on TWiP 41 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson discuss loaiasis caused by the filarial nematode Loa loa. Right-click to download TWiP #40 (52 MB .mp3, 73 minutes). Links for this episode: Albendazole therapy for US-bound refugees (NEJM) Microfilaria of Loa loa (png) Loa loa life cycle (png) Letters read on TWiP 40 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 biology and pathogenesis of the amoebae Naegleria fowlerii and Acanthamoeba castellani. Links for this episode: N. fowlerii life cycle (CDC) N. fowlerii at Artful Amoeba Naegleria and amoebic meningoencephalitis (MDPH) First case of Naegleria PAM in Italy (Emerg Inf Dis) N. fowlerii in well water (Emerg Inf Dis) Recent N. fowlerii case in Minnesota (Clin Inf Dis) Beat the holiday bug (Sydney Morning Herald) Is your neti pot safe? (Dallas News) Acanthamoeba keratitis fact sheet (CDC) Letters read on TWiP 39 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Vincent and Dickson tackle the backlog of listener email, then consider the life cycle and pathogenesis of Trichomonas vaginalis, the flagellated protozoan transmitted by sexual contact. Links for this episode: T. vaginalis life cycle (jpg) T. vaginalis hydrogenosome (jpg) Letters read on TWiP 38 Contact Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twip@twiv.tv.

Vincent and Dickson discuss the life cycle and pathogenesis of Dracunculus medinensis, the filarial nematode that causes dracunculiasis, or Guinea worm disease. Links for this episode: Dracunculus emerging from foot (jpg) Dracunculus medinensis life cycle (jpg) Guinea worm - WHO Guinea worm eradication - The Carter Center War against Guinea worm (YouTube) Caduceus vs staff of Asclepius Vincent and Dickson - the dogs (jpg) Letters read on TWiP 37

Vincent and Dickson review how gut bacteria help establish T. muris in the large intestine of mice.

Vincent and Dickson discuss control of malaria with their Columbia University colleague David Fidock.

Vincent and Dickson discuss control of malaria and filariasis with the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia.

Vincent and Dickson review an in silico pipeline for identifying molecular mimicry candidate proteins in the genomes of parasites, and catch up on listener email.

Vincent and Dickson discuss immune evasion by the cruzain protease of T. cruzi, and novel tetraspanin antigens of S. japonicum.

Vincent and Dickson discuss the promising results of a phase III trial of a malaria vaccine in African children.

Vincent and Dickson have a broad-ranging conversation with Charles Knirsch of Pfizer, Inc. about how public-private partnerships can function to control and eliminate infectious diseases.

Vincent and Dickson converse with Peter Hotez about global health, vaccinology, and neglected tropical diseases.

Vincent and Dickson discuss medical entomology with Robert W. Gwadz, Assistant Chief of the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research at NIAID.

Vincent and Dickson continue their discussion of trematodes, or flukes, which have a snail as a reservoir host.

Vincent and Dickson take on the schistosomes, agents of a series of related diseases in humans referred to as schistosomiasis.

Vincent and Dickson review Wuchereria bancrofti, the nematode that causes lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis.

Vincent and Dickson discuss the life cycle and pathogenesis of Onchocerca volvulus, the vector-borne filarial nematode parasite that causes onchocerciasis, or river blindness.