Analytical parasitology

edited by M.T. Rogan, Springer, 1997. DM128.00 (365 pages) ISBN 3 540 58919 8.     

Post-genomic nematode parasitology

The future direction of post-genomic nematode parasitology should focus on the function of the genes that are defined by large-scale expressed sequence tag sequencing and on broader questions about the genetic basis of parasitism. Functional characterisation will require the application of high throughput technologies that have been developed in other fields, including genome mapping strategies and DNA microarray analysis. These will be greatly aided by the development and application of appropriate model organisms. It is crucial that the field make the transition from a narrow focus on one or a few genes at a time to a focus on whole genomes in order to fully realise the potential of the expressed sequence tag and other genomic projects currently under way.     

Diagnostic medical parasitology

by L.S. Garcia and D.A. Bruckner, ASM Press, 1997. pound60.00 (xv+937 pages) ISBN 1 55581 1167.     

Parasitism and ecological parasitology

Parasitism as one of the life modes is a general biological phenomenon and is a characteristic of all viruses, many taxa of bacteria, fungi, protists, metaphytes, and metazoans. Zooparasitology is focused on studies of parasitic animals, particularly, on their taxonomy, anatomy, life cycles, host-parasite relations, biocoenotic connections, and evolution. Ecological parasitology is a component of ecology, as the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings. In the present paper, critical analysis of the problems, main postulates, and terminology of the modern ecological parasitology is given.     

PEERing forward in parasitology

PEERs in Parasitology (PiP) is a global scientific grassroots organization founded in 2021 to promote equity and inclusion for persons (currently and) historically excluded from science because of ethnicity and/or race. The article details systemic obstacles PEER parasitologists face and current and future strategies of PiP to overcome them.     

Parasitism and ecological parasitology

Parasitism as one of the modes of life is a general biological phenomenon and is characteristic of all viruses, many taxa of bacteria, fungi, protists, metaphytes, and metazoans. Zooparasitology is focused on studies of parasitic animals, particularly, on their taxonomy, anatomy, life cycles, host-parasite relations, biocoenotic connections, and evolution. Ecological parasitology is a part of ecology as a discipline studying the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings. The present paper contains a critical analysis of the problems, main postulates, and terminology of the modern ecological parasitology.     

Molecular parasitology goes cellular

Application of molecular genetics is an increasingly feasible undertaking in parasitology; however, an understanding of the phenotypes of various mutants generated by this approach will ultimately rely on cellular approaches to resolve the function of various proteins. In addition to the advances in understanding the biology of parasitism, such studies probably will uncover fundamental aspects of how eukaryotic cells communicate and regulate their responses to the environment. Thus, parasites may one day provide useful biological tools, just as viruses and bacterial toxins have done in the past, towards probing the biology of mammalian cells.