Research led by a University of Maryland team has identified the first inter-species, signalling pathway between an arthropod parasite and host, where molecules in the blood of a host animal trigger the immunity and development of a parasite. The study, which was published on January 13 in the journal Science, identifies a potential target for anti-tick vaccines or therapeutics to prevent the spread of infections like Lyme disease. Humans usually get the disease from the bite of a tick carrying the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.
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