Scientists have sequenced the genome of the body louse, offering insights into human biology and insect evolution that could help detach us from our inseparable, blood-sucking companions. The study, ...

In a recent study published in the journal PLOS Biology, researchers adapt a strain of human body lice to a membrane feeder to study its infection dynamics with Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of ...

Fluorescent image of a human body louse with Yersinia pestis infection (orange/red) in the Pawlowsky glands. Y. pestis has been the culprit behind numerous pandemics, including the Black Death of the ...

Human‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ lice have long been a source of everyday confusion, and yet these parasites have been closely and intimately associated with humans for a long time. While their presence is generally ...

A new laboratory study suggests that human body lice are more efficient at transmitting Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, than previously thought, supporting the possibility that they ...

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL have analyzed ancient DNA from Borrelia recurrentis, a type of bacteria that causes relapsing fever, pinpointing when it evolved to spread through ...

The globally important human diseases of trench fever, epidemic typhus, and relapsing fever are vectored by the human louse Pediculus humanus humanus. Although these conditions are epidemically ...

Scientists unraveling the genetic history of head lice have found startling evidence that early humans mingled with a clan of hairy, distant cousins as recently as 25,000 years ago in Asia -- a ...

In his dissertation, Scherer reported four specific hydrocarbons present in significant amounts in every head louse sample he studied. [2] These four hydrocarbons represent approximately 50% of the ...

A new laboratory study suggests that human body lice are more efficient at transmitting Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, than previously thought, supporting the possibility that they ...