Parasite Rex
Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures
by Carl Zimmer · first published 2000
18mentions
13recommended by
14HN commenters
2010–2026first – last mentioned
93% recommend7% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A creepy tour of parasite life cycles, multiple hosts, and hosts whose behavior parasites control, showing how much evolution parasitism drives. Suits curious general readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A look inside the often hidden world of parasites turns the clock back to the beginning of life on Earth to answer key questions about these highly evolved and resilient life forms.
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…serious parasitic infections above because virtually everyone host some benign parasites such as the Demodex mite, a microscopic mite that lives on our eye lashes. See [2]. Finally, let me recommend Parasite Rex... by Carl Zimmer. [3] [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1618732/ [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3884930/ [3] https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatu...
on “I volunteered to be infected with 50 parasitic worms for a research study” ↗I recommend the book "Parasite Rex" by Carl Zimmer for those who are fascinated by this sort of thing. The book discusses several interesting and creepy parasites.
on “Emerald cockroach wasp - Reproductive behavior and life cycle” ↗Check out Carl Zimmer's book: Parasite Rex and his columns for more of the same.
on “Hidden Epidemic: Tapeworms Living Inside People's Brains” ↗We are safe not just thanks to reason in our social behaviour, but also our hygiene: http://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatur... I thought that anyone who has raised a cat knows that animals are jerks (playing with bleeding mice for hours and all), but I was shocked by the added layer of terribleness…
on “Sea Otters Are Jerks. So Are Dolphins, Penguins, and Other Adorable Animals” ↗I'd also recommend Upstream Color, which has an almost more creatively baroque yet strangely logical plot. Maybe mix it with this: http://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatur...
on “Ask HN: Any movies that changed your life?” ↗Carl Zimmer's very interesting book Parasite Rex (though now over a decade and a half old) cites some studies on using worms to treat Crohn's disease and googling around yields this a more recent paper published in Science about studies done on mice…
on “The Parasite Underground” ↗If you are interested in this subject, Carl Zimmer wrote a great book that has all sorts of examples of parasites that control their host: "Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures" https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatu...
on “Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with female corpses” ↗A good book on parasites that I can recommend for the general reader is Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures by Carl Zimmer [1]. [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/074320011X/ref=dbs_a_def_r...
on “Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms?” ↗The book Parasite Rex (2001) by Carl Zimmer is fantastic, and it inspired quite a few researchers to go into the study of parasites: https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatu... The book manages to be gross…
on “Parasites are everywhere. Why do so few researchers study them?” ↗…where ever odd numbered chapter is the story, and every even numbered chapter describes a different parasite. At the end of the book was a blurb that said "if you enjoyed the parasite chapters, go read Parasite Rex, which I did. I loved it. That book inspired me to take AP Bio, then get degrees in molecular biology and bioinformatics. In college I did research on a few different species of parasitic wasp for a…
on “Parasites are everywhere. Why do so few researchers study them?” ↗If you are interested in this subject, Carl Zimmer wrote a great book that has all sorts of examples of parasites that control their host: "Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures" https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Rex-Bizarre-Dangerous-Creatu...
on “Parasitic worms 'manipulate' mantises onto asphalt roads, say researchers” ↗A very interesting read on this topic is Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer. Fascinating life cycles that involve parasites and sometime multiple hosts. It seems having parasites is the norm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_Rex
on “Parasites plagued Roman soldiers at Hadrian's Wall” ↗Parasite Rex is an amazing book for this kind of thing.
on “Butterflies Full of Wasps Full of Microwasps Are a Science Nightmare (2021)” ↗…that they are more likely to be spotted and eaten by birds, thereby enabling the parasite's dispersal. In fact a hell of a lot of biology and evolution can be seen to be driven by parasitism. The book "Parasite Rex" is a good if unsettling source.
on “Toxo, the cysts in our brains from cats, can improve self-control (2013)” ↗…themselves. This has more info about this: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.ht... Also, for anyone curious about parasites, this book is a gem: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_Rex
on “The Internet Has a Rat Poison Problem” ↗