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Summary:
Parasite Rex was a complex book describing the life of a parasite. ... One scientist, Ray Lankester, is responsible for parasite’s vicious reputation. He studied the parasite known as Sacculina, a parasite that inhabits crabs. He thought that it was born as a free-living organism that degenerated into a parasite, giving up the majority of its body to inhabit the body of another. ... One particular parasite mentioned is Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria and is transmitted by hungry mosquitoes. ... In many cases, it is not the parasite that kills it’s host, for that would be at it’s own disadvantage, but rather the host’s immune system that goes out of control, eventually harming the body instead of the invader. The equilibrium between the amount that parasite takes from the body and the harm that taking from the body actually causes is called “virulence”.
Protozoa and single celled eukaryotes do not make up the entire parasite kingdom. ... In the book, many other parasites are mentioned along the way including nematodes, lancet flukes, guinea worms, Plasmodium (the parasite that causes malaria), Toxoplasma and various others. ...
Many scientific explanations are made for how parasites can invade our bodies untouched. ...
Major Scientific Concepts:
1. ... Parasites can castrate their host, make them care for their young, force them to be lifeless parasite dormitories and even make them change their behavior to get into other hosts. ...
My Personal opinion of the book:
I personally enjoyed reading the book.
Approximate Word count = 2006
Approximate Pages = 8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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