POWER TO THE PARASITES!

A parasitologist explains why no creature—including you—ever truly dines alone.

In their “flesh-gnawing, bloodsucking, poop-inhabiting lifestyles, parasites pretty much rule the world,” Wood claims, pointing to their near ubiquity in every corner of the biosphere. Along with marveling at the nearly miraculous way many of them have to pass through several species of hosts in order to complete their life cycles, she offers a highlight reel of unfailingly memorable examples—among them a nematode that coexists peaceably in the heads of white-tail deer but riddles the brains of any other species unlucky enough to ingest it, a cat parasite that can alter the behavior of both mice and humans, and the bacterium responsible for the Black Death. It’s all in good, as well as incredibly entertaining, fun, and anyway, as the author firmly notes, it wouldn’t be wrong to regard parasites as “good guys,” considering the vital roles they play in controlling insect pests and even regulating ecosystems…not to mention the implications of alarming recent increases in autoimmune diseases in developed countries, where general exposure to parasites has been reduced. “We can’t live with them,” she sums up perceptively, “but maybe we also can’t live without them.” Mottram adds schematic views of select parasitical life cycles, livened by humorously expressive beasts and bugs.

An eye-opening, as well as stomach-churning, angle on who’s really the boss in the natural world.