Author: Dalia Iskander
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789811667664
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
'This beautifully written account deftly moves between scales and registers to dive into specifics of practices that shape what malaria is, and how this has come to be. Iskander's impressive contribution with this book is to explicate malaria as a particular bio-social phenomenon: how the non-human world affects change, such that human-defined interventions to target parasites in turn target human relations. The book will be of interest to all scholars of global health as well as medical anthropologists.' -Clare Chandler, Professor in Medical Anthropology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 'This book illustrates how malaria is intertwined into Philippine history and the lives of people afflicted by the disease even into this second millennium. Malaria agencies need to listen to the experiences of people described in this book. It is an important read for anthropology and public health students and professionals, and for anyone who wishes to understand local disease practices.' -Dr Effie Espino, Medical Specialist IV, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Health, Philippines This book describes how malaria both frustrates and facilitates life for Indigenous Pälawan communities living in the forested foothills of the municipality of Bataraza on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Tracing the arc of malaria on the archipelago from colonial encounters to the present day, it examines the ways in which malaria parasites have become entangled in contemporary lives. It uniquely explores the experiences of local government leaders working towards sustainably developing this last ecological frontier, health workers trying to meet international targets to eliminate malaria, and Pälawan people trying to keep their bodies, social relations and the cosmos in careful balance. In exquisite detail, Dr Dalia Iskander shows how malaria emerged from, and was intrinsic to, a whole host of strategically-orientated social practices that were enacted in as well as around the disease's name, as people worked day-to-day to gain power in different guises in different arenas.
Author: Carl Zimmer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 074320011X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
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Book Description
IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites control the minds of their hosts, sending them to their destruction. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites are masters of chemical warfare and camouflage, able to cloak themselves with their hosts' own molecules. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites steer the course of evolution, where the majority of species are parasites. WELCOME TO EARTH. For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and in the darkest shadows of science. Yet these creatures are among the world's most successful and sophisticated organisms. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer deftly balances the scientific and the disgusting as he takes readers on a fantastic voyage. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the fetid parasite haven of southern Sudan, Zimmer graphically brings to life how parasites can change DNA, rewire the brain, make men more distrustful and women more outgoing, and turn hosts into the living dead. This thorough, gracefully written book brings parasites out into the open and uncovers what they can teach us about the most fundamental survival tactics in the universe.
Author: Mira Grant
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0316218936
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 512
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Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant comes a vision of a decade in the future, where humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease. We owe our good health to a humble parasite — a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the Intestinal Bodyguard worm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system — even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them. But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives . . . and will do anything to get them. "A riveting near-future medical thriller that reads like the genetically-engineered love child of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton." —John Joseph Adams More from Mira Grant: Parasitology Parasite Symbiont Chimera Newsflesh Feed Deadline Blackout Feedback Rise
Author: Rosemary Drisdelle
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520259386
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
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Book Description
The evolution and life history of parasites, their role in shaping human history, as well as future threats posed by them.
Author: Heinz Mehlhorn
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319229362
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 199
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Book Description
This edited volume focuses on parasite-host relationships and the behavioral changes parasites may trigger in their hosts. Parasites have developed strategies which enhance their chances to find a host to survive inside its body and to become most easily transmitted to one another. Many of these parasites influence the host’s behavior by various mechanisms, so that the rate of their transmissions to further hosts becomes considerably enhanced in comparison to that of non-influenced specimens of the same host species. A broad number of recent studies elucidate more and more examples in an extreme spectrum of host-parasite relationships, where successful transmission and /or survival of a parasite inside a host is based on parasite-derived behavioral manipulations of the hosts. In the literature, an increasing numbers of papers appear which prove that these behavioral alterations are based on complicated psychoimmunologic, neuropharmacologic and genomically steered mechanisms. Researchers working in parasitology or behavioral sciences will find this work thought-provoking, instructive and informative.
Author: Kathleen McAuliffe
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0544193229
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299
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Book Description
“Engrossing . . . [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” —The Wall Street Journal Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human. “If you’ve ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed.” —Bookforum “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can’t wait to share.” —Scientific American “Humorous, inspiring, and macabre, this is infectious reading in the tradition of giants like Robert S. Desowitz and Jared Diamond.” —Michael A. Huffman, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University
Author: Janice Moore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019534913X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 329
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Book Description
When a parasite invades an ant, does the ant behave like other ants? Maybe not-and if it doesn't, who, if anyone, benefits from the altered behaviors? The parasite? The ant? Parasites and the Behavior of Animals shows that parasite-induced behavioral alterations are more common than we might realize, and it places these alterations in an evolutionary and ecological context. Emphasizing eukaryotic parasites, the book examines the adaptive nature of behavioral changes associated with parasitism, exploring the effects of these changes on parasite transmission, parasite avoidance, and the fitness of both host and parasite. The behavioral changes and their effects are not always straightforward. To the extent that virulence, for instance, is linked to parasite transmission, the evolutionary interests of parasite and host will diverge, and the current winner of the contest to maximize reproductive rates may not be clear, or, for that matter, inevitable. Nonetheless, by affecting susceptibility, host/parasite lifespan and fecundity, and transmission itself, host behavior influences parameters that are basic to our comprehension of how parasites invade host populations, and fundamentally, how parasites evolve. Such an understanding is important for a wide range of scientists, from ecologists and parasitologists to evolutionary, conservation and behavioral biologists: The behavioral alterations that parasites induce can subtly and profoundly affect the distribution and abundance of animals.
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Publisher: Random House Graphic
ISBN: 0307978907
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 100
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Book Description
Now an animated show streaming on HBO Max! It's SQUISH—a hilarious, action packed graphic novel series from the award-winning creators of Babymouse! Filled with superheroes, comics within comics, and gross-out science, Squish is perfect for fans of Dog Man, Captain Underpants, and My Weird School. School's out! Everyone's favorite amoeba is headed to summer camp! But instead of SUPER AWESOME FUN, Squish's summer is turning out to be SUPER AWESOME TERRIFYING! For one thing, Squish can't swim. And to make matters worse, his new camp friend is a Hydra (scientific fact: A hydra's tentacles can paralyze you!). Will Squish sink or will he swim this summer? (And what's up with Pod and black holes anyways??) Find out the answers to these questions and more in the super spectacular adventure, Squish #3: The Power of the Parasite. Summer reading has never been so slimey! Yowza! You can draw comics, too! Look in the back to find out how to draw one of the Squish characters! Also includes instructions for a sensational science experiment you can do at home! Shazam! Here's what people are saying about everyone's favorite amoeba! New York Times: "An energetic, good-hearted escapade, one that young readers will enjoy." Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews: * "Hilarious. If ever a new series deserved to go viral, this one does." The Bulletin: "A perfect mix of writing that is simple enough for early readers but still remarkably snarky, clever, and entertaining. Kids will soak up the humor, tidbits of science instruction, and adventure."
Author: Dalia Iskander
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789811667657
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
'This beautifully written account deftly moves between scales and registers to dive into specifics of practices that shape what malaria is, and how this has come to be. Iskander's impressive contribution with this book is to explicate malaria as a particular bio-social phenomenon: how the non-human world affects change, such that human-defined interventions to target parasites in turn target human relations. The book will be of interest to all scholars of global health as well as medical anthropologists.' -Clare Chandler, Professor in Medical Anthropology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 'This book illustrates how malaria is intertwined into Philippine history and the lives of people afflicted by the disease even into this second millennium. Malaria agencies need to listen to the experiences of people described in this book. It is an important read for anthropology and public health students and professionals, and for anyone who wishes to understand local disease practices.' -Dr Effie Espino, Medical Specialist IV, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Health, Philippines This book describes how malaria both frustrates and facilitates life for Indigenous Pälawan communities living in the forested foothills of the municipality of Bataraza on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Tracing the arc of malaria on the archipelago from colonial encounters to the present day, it examines the ways in which malaria parasites have become entangled in contemporary lives. It uniquely explores the experiences of local government leaders working towards sustainably developing this last ecological frontier, health workers trying to meet international targets to eliminate malaria, and Pälawan people trying to keep their bodies, social relations and the cosmos in careful balance. In exquisite detail, Dr Dalia Iskander shows how malaria emerged from, and was intrinsic to, a whole host of strategically-orientated social practices that were enacted in as well as around the disease's name, as people worked day-to-day to gain power in different guises in different arenas.
Author: Brenda Gardenour
Publisher: Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers
ISBN: 9781433115479
Category : Annelida
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The fear of parasites - with their power to invade, infest, and transform the self - writhes and wriggles through cultures and religions across the globe, reflecting a very human revulsion of being invaded and consumed by both internal and external forces. However, in ancient China, the parasitic wasp and the worm illuminate the relationship between the sage and his pupil. On the Indian sub-continent, Hindu cultures worship Nagas, entities who protect sources of drinking water from parasitic contamination, and the reciprocal relationship between parasite and host is a recurring theme in Vedic literature and ayurvedic texts. In medieval Europe, worms are symbols of both corruption through sin and redemption through Christ. In traditional African American culture, disease is attributed to infestation by supernatural spiders, bugs, and worms, while in the rainforests of southern Argentina, parasitologists fight against very real parasitic invaders. The worm represents our Jungian shadow, and we fear their bodies for they are our own - soft and vulnerable, powerfully destructive, mindlessly living off the corpses of others, and feeding on the corpse of the world. This book gathers together scholarly research from diverse disciplines, including anthropology, the health sciences, history, literature, the medical humanities, parasitology, sociology, and religious studies.
