Parasite Rex

Parasite Rex By: Carl Zimmer Parasites are among the world's most successful and sophisticated organisms. They can transform the insides of other creatures into hospitable homes. They can evade the onslaught of the immune system and even make it serve them. Parasites can even control the minds of their hosts and force them to do their bidding. And thanks to these skills, parasites may make up the majority of all species. I was never aware …

…are beginning to appreciate how parasites can control the fate of entire ecosystems and even steer the course of evolution. In the final two chapters of Parasite Rex, Zimmer addresses parasites in human medicine and agriculture. Not only are parasites not all bad, Zimmer concludes in this exemplary work of popular science, but we may be parasites, too-and we have a lot to learn from them about how to manage earth, the host we share.