[.ca] Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most ... (ISBN 074320011X)

From Amazon.com:
Many books provoke a visceral reaction, but few really make you itch. Science writer Carl Zimmer's Parasite Rex does just that, provoking a deliciously creepy sense of paranoia in the reader as it explores a long-misunderstood realm of science. While entomologists love to announce that there are more species of insects than all other animals combined, few parasitologists choose to trump that by reminding us that "parasites may outnumber free-living species four to one." That figure is based on the multicellular chauvinism of the 19th century, which excludes bacteria and fungi from consideration (athlete's foot, anyone?), but Zimmer looks at the E. coli in our guts as well as the worms, flukes, mites, and other critters that earn a healthy living at our expense--and the expense of our domesticated plants and animals. The author traveled to Africa to see firsthand the effects of sleeping sickness and river blindness. He learned from physicians and researchers that the parasites that wreak so much havoc are much more than the simple degenerates we've taken them for. Their complex adaptations to their environments--us--are as lovely and awe-inspiring as any eye or wing. The examples of hormonal and other behavioral control of hosts, causing changes in feeding habits and other life essentials, are chilling when personalized. Zimmer knows his subject well, and his writing, while robust and affecting, never descends to the all-too-easy gross-out. You wouldn't expect to find respect for a tapeworm, but Parasite Rex will show you how beautiful Earth's truly dominant life forms are. --Rob Lightner

Interesting!:
Zimmer provides a fascinating and detailed explanation of the unseen role that parasites have played in evolutionary development over millions of years. A variety of amazing examples are given to demonstrate how parasites adapt to and manipulate their hosts. The book is written in fairly technical lingo when describing the biological details, - but in a way that was very accessible to me, who has no particular training in biology. The only thing I didn't like about the book was Zimmer's constant anthropomorphizing of parasites' motives. For example, when discussing a parasite he would say something like, "the parasite continually changes its cell membrane in order to fool the hosts immune system". Well, that might be so in a technical sense, but let's face it - a single-celled organism is not capable of thought or reason. So to explain it's functions in terms of human thought processes is to avoid altogether the major, huge, enormous question that I wanted answered, - namely: 1) How does an organism that is incapable of thought adapt itself to exploit its host in such sophisticated manner? Sure, he discussed adaptation over millions of years, but even in that discussion it didn't make clear for me how adaptation alone could allow a non-thinking entity to orchestrate the extremely complicated series of tricks that a parasite pulls off as a matter of course. (And to be fair, he does acknowledge on a couple of occasions that he is in fact attributing characterizations to these parasites that they, or course, are not capable of - but for each time he acknowledges that there are 100 other times when he anthropomorphizes them again!) and 2) Why does a parasite give a rat's patootie whether it survives or not? Zimmer constantly explains parasites' actions as meant to ensure their survival, but never once does he address WHY a parasite is driven to survive. Instinct and pleasure drive mammals to interact sexually and reproduce, - but can a simple parasite experience pleasure or possess instinct? Ultimately Zimmer is contending in this book that parasites, by affecting and controlling their hosts, have played a major role in determining how life on this planet evolved. He makes a compelling argument, but ultimately it's a chicken-and-egg sort of question: Did parasites affect the development of larger species or did the development of larger species affect how parasites developed? Ultimately it's probably a bit of both. The bottom line is that this book is interesting and well worth reading. It opened my eyes to a whole system of life that exists, largely unnoticed, in and around us.

an adventure and journey into a world we can hardly imagine:
I was drawn to this book orignially out of the idea that things so small can cause so much damage and or alter larger animals in ways some would find hard to believe. One of the previous reviewers mentioned something about sacculina (a parasitic barnicle that attacks crabs). Reading about how sacculina castrates its host and makes it care for its young was one of the things that got me interested in reading this fascinating book. Sacculina is only one of many fascinating parasites discussed however. Many are familiar with parasites such as cuckcoos, tape worms and trichinella but few have heard of parasites such as the lancet fluke and even fewer are familiar with its life cycle and what it does to its host. In terms of the spooky element, I think Dicrocoelium dendriticum (the lancet fluke) ranks as one of the top villains given in the book. The lancet fluke has three different hosts, namely the snail, the ant and cow or other grazers. As an adult, the lancet fluke spends its time in the gut of a cow where it lays its eggs. The eggs are then deposited on the ground with the cow's feces then snails eat the eggs which hatch in its intestines. The baby flukes bore through the snail's gut emerging from the snails slimy body and onto the ground where they attract the attention of ants. The ants eat these slime balls and become infected. The flukes then make the ants climb up the highest blade of grass they can find and lock their mandibles onto the top of the blade hanging until they are eaten by a grazer to continue its life cycle. There are a few interesting details which I intentionally left out. Only one parasite in the book made me cringe and that was with candiru. Candiru is a thin fish found in the rivers of Latin America. Woe to the unfortunate soul who happens to urinate in a river in the presence of candiru because it will detect the odor of urine and ram itself into the victim's urethra (male or female) and lodge itself there with its teeth. Candiru is virtually impossible to remove once inside the urethra. Humans are not candiru's natural hosts however, it attacks them as a mistake. The book also expounds on how and why parasites have a vital and critical role to play in ecology. Examples of bad things happening because certain parasites were eliminated is discussed.

Zimmer's book is fascinating:
Flukes that can cleverly induce their snail and piscine hosts right into a hungry bird's beak; wasps that lay their eggs inside caterpillars and spiders, forcing these unfortunate hosts to nurture the wasp larvae after they hatch; and yes, tiny parasites that can manipulate and outwit human immune and nervous systems -- all to continue the parasite's life cycle ... at our expense. Zimmer intensified my interest in parasitology when I read his Discover magazine article "Do Parasites Rule the World?" This led me to his "Parasite Rex" which more comprehensively explores the dominating role that parasites play in global ecosystems. Organisms that biologists had long regarded as nothing more than a freeloading nuisance have since been found to control not only their hosts' behavior but to shape the evolution of organisms as complex as human beings. Zimmer provides a generous supply of well-researched examples and anecdotes on the various types of parasites and their behavior as well as the different and ingenious ways parasites can overcome their hosts' defenses. And once this reality threshold has been established, Zimmer examines others' treatment of parasites in the works of science fiction, some eerily lifelike, others laughable, but each in its own right fascinatingly familiar for those courageous enough to have taken interest in the biology of these highly underrated, often-scorned creatures.

Informative, Clear, insightful- biological paradigm shift...:
... but written for the average joe or josephine!!! This isn't just a book about parasites- it's an introduction to a new way of perceiving the world around us, re-evaluating our place in a biological, ecological and evolutionary context... Zimmer writes with clarity and interest about the wonders of parasitic organisms- how they are a driving force in evolution, how they penetrate and manipulate their hosts, how they are not (as was thought previously) the dregs of the evolutionary process- if anything they are the engines of life. He also discusses how hosts can change against their parasites... And how parasites can change over time- for example, the mitochondria that power our cells are very similar to one of the more lethal diseases known to man, in fact, both probably evolved from the same ancestor!!!!!!!! Furthermore- mammalian fetuses could be classified, possibly as parasitic organisms- they rewire the mother's blood-sugar levels and secrete chemicals that leach away the various chemicals that the fetus demands to grow... the mother tries to combat this process as an unchecked fetus could drain her and take away her capacity to make more children. But the fetus has inherited a number of enzymes from the father that attempt to latch on and break the mother's control over her own body. These and myriad other insights into biology are woven together wonderfully. I couldn't put this book down! Zimmer travels the globe and his anecdotes concerning the various parasitologists are almost as much fun to read as the protracted discussions of the parasites. It is a budding field in biology and full of colorful characters. He also writes about parasites in films and pop culture, such as the Alien series... I couldn't imagine anyone else making a species like 'Sacculinae' (I know I miss-spelled that) come alive (they infest crabs, basically turning the crabs into castrated barnacle spawners). Zimmer does. At times it's a horrifying read: Nature doesn't love you, but she sure coddles toxoplasma and legions of other parasitic species, whose ranks are spread across every animal kingdom. Guinea worms, Sleeping sickness, Fleischmania (eats away the flesh of your face), the Candiru, the botfly- if you have a penchant for the macabre and disgusting you will not be let down. But this book isn't just to disgust and delight readers... It's illuminating and clear- approachable in a way that very few scientific-works-for-laypeople are. I can't wait to get my hands on other books by Mr. Zimmer. If Parasite Rex is any indication... 5 enthusiastic stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Extraordinary:
When I saw this book on the shelves I thought I was prepared for it. I thought it would present the world of parasites with interesting descriptions, some scientific information and a touch of gruesome or creepy, and that that would be it. How wrong I was. This book gives much, much more than that. In fact, this book can be read at different levels. At the first level, one will find the descriptions I mentioned and will be entertained by reading of the unusual animals, their parasitic infestations, or the information about parasites that we (almost all of us) carry in our bodies. But there is a deeper reading level: the book will destroy your vision of biology and ecology to build a new one. It will have you looking at the world, the environment, your own body under a new light. You will start to re-consider your concept of superior organism and intelligence. You will have doubts about who is actually superior to who in ecology. You will have to think of the human race as something less efficient and superior as you are used to think. The book is easy to read, even for those who do not have good biology basis, yet it is not boring for more scientifically advanced readers. I strongly recommend this book to readers of any ages. It is instructive, entertaining, stimulating. A masterpiece.