parasites – News Stories About parasites - Page 3

Sep 22, 2010 5:49 AM CDT

Experts Swarm Bedbug Summit

Leaders in battle against bloodsuckers meet in Chicago

(Newser) - These are boom times in the bedbug control business and dozens of scientists, exterminators, and inventors have flocked to a summit this week on dealing with the resurgent pest. At the first-ever North American Bedbug Summit, being held in a suburban Chicago hotel, dozens of vendors displayed ways to trap,...

Cities With Worst
Bedbug Infestations

Aug 24, 2010 4:26 PM CDT

Cities With Worst Bedbug Infestations

Ohio has three in the top 10

(Newser) - The bedbug problem continues to spread across the US, with 95% of pest companies reporting encounters. But which cities are the hardest hit? The Daily Beast consulted exterminator Orkin for information—and found that it's not a good time to be in Ohio. The biggest infestations are in:

This Leech Wants to
Live in Your Nose

This Leech Wants to Live in Your Nose

Large-toothed leech infests Amazon—and, of course, noses

(Newser) - If the piranhas aren't enough to deter you from swimming in the Amazon region, this thing probably will be. A new species of leech has been discovered in Peru—and it's especially fond of dwelling inside the human nose, the BBC reports. The creature, discovered after a doctor pulled one...

'Better' Pork Carries
Big Health Risks

OPINION

Apr 10, 2009 9:33 AM CDT

'Better' Pork Carries Big Health Risks

Free-range pork may relieve your guilt, but bother your tummy

(Newser) - Free-range pork sounds better for everyone involved, especially the pig. But exposure to the outdoors means exposure to dangerous pathogens, from salmonella to toxoplasmosis to the deadly parasite trichinosis, writes James McWilliams for the New York Times. "Free range is like piggy day care, a thoughtfully arranged system designed...

Pay for Soup, Enjoy Insects, Mold Free

OPINION

Feb 13, 2009 1:33 PM CST

Pay for Soup, Enjoy Insects, Mold Free

FDA's classification of food 'defects' a slippery slope

(Newser) - If you're eating, stop reading now: The FDA's rules on foreign matter in food products are a veritable entomology lesson. Maggots, fly eggs, rodent droppings, grit, mold, burlap, cigarette butts, and parasites are all OK with the agency in limited quantities, writes EJ Levy in the New York Times, adding,...

Scientists Building
Better Bug Spray

May 27, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Scientists Building Better Bug Spray

Pepper compounds keep mosquitoes away 3 times longer than top dog DEET

(Newser) - Researchers have found bug repellents that keep mosquitoes from biting for up to 73 days, WebMD reports. Compounds found in pepper kept bugs away nearly three times as long as industry leader DEET, which manages just 17.5 days under the same conditions—though a normal human would sweat or...

New Approach Targets Tough Parasitic Illness

Dec 27, 2007 1:15 PM CST

New Approach Targets Tough Parasitic Illness

Insect-borne disease infects 11M annually

(Newser) - A new way to test for Chagas disease offers hope for combating the insect-borne ailment, which can otherwise go unnoticed for years, Reuters reports. The new method involves screening children in small areas where exterminators find the most disease-carrying bugs instead of having to test bigger populations. The disease infects...

Bigfoot Sighting Revealed to be Big Mistake

Nov 8, 2007 6:36 PM CST

Bigfoot Sighting Revealed to be Big Mistake

Bad case of mange made bear look like legendary Sasquatch

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania hunter's footage of a "juvenile Sasquatch" has been discredited after officials said the star of the show was actually an unhealthy bear. Same deal for a Texas rancher who claimed to have captured a chupacabra, the legendary Mexican goat-killer, but had in fact only bagged a coyote....

Modified Mosquitoes Could Fight the Spread of Malaria

Mar 20, 2007 8:06 AM CDT

Modified Mosquitoes Could Fight the Spread of Malaria

(Newser) - Genetically modified mosquitoes that cannot pass on malaria may help reduce the spread of the disease that now causes a million deaths a year, mostly children. A new study shows that the lab-designed bugs could out-breed their natural competition, eventually driving them out altogether and eliminating the route through which...

Is Your Cat Making You Neurotic?

Mar 15, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

Is Your Cat Making You Neurotic?

(Newser) - A parasite that reproduces in cats, previously linked to schizophrenia in infected humans, has now, bizarrely, been implicated in mass personality changes in geographic areas where incidence of infection is high. A U.S. Geological Survey study of 39 countries shows that high infection rates of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite...