infection
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Meet the Flesh-Loving, Butt-Breathing Maggot That Helps Solve Murders
Not all superheroes wear capes – some live in rubbish bins, garbage dumps and on dead bodies. Maggots are the offspring of the blowfly, the scourge of the Aussie picnic, nuisance of summer and feared by farmers for infesting and killing sheep. However, these humble little legless larvae are actually nature’s antibacterial soldiers. Their ability…
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Someone in Wyoming Caught the Plague From Their Cats
A Wyoming resident appears to have caught a case of the plague from their own cats, health officials reported this week. The person — health officials didn’t share any identifying information — contracted pneumonic plague, a rare form of the already very rare disease. Despite the low risk of plague in the U.S. and in…
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A Rare, Cancer-Like Parasite Is Emerging in North America
A cancer-like parasitic disease caused by certain tapeworms has squirmed its way into North America, researchers in Canada warn. Their recent review shows that cases of the still very rare disease have started to rise in the province of Alberta and elsewhere over the past few years, in both humans and animals. They also present…
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Biologist: We’re Completey Unprepared To Handle A Zombie Outbreak
A zombie virus may not be at the top of your list of likely apocalypses, but I think we can all agree that it would suck to get caught unprepared. Unfortunately, we are. As proven by countless movies, TV shows, and novels, society is woefully unready to deal with an infectious, flesh-eating horde.