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Steve Jones

Wendy Gibson

Kayla King

Simon Tillotson

In Our Time: Parasitism

Parasitism

26/01/2017

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Parasitism

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Parasitism, where one species gains at the cost of another

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Parasitism, the relationship between two species where one benefits at the expense of the other, sometimes killing the host or causing disease.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the relationship between parasites and hosts, where one species lives on or in another to the benefit of the parasite but at a cost to the host, potentially leading to disease or death of the host. Typical examples are mistletoe and trees, hookworms and vertebrates, cuckoos and other birds. In many cases the parasite species do so well in or on a particular host that they reproduce much faster and can adapt to changes more efficiently, and it is thought that almost half of all animal species have a parasitic stage in their lifetime. What techniques do hosts have to counter the parasites, and what impact do parasites have on the evolution of their hosts? 

With 

Steve Jones
Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College, London

Wendy Gibson
Professor of Protozoology at the University of Bristol

and 

Kayla King
Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

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