As the title says, i've started making youtube videos about parasites. Some of the videos are gonna be focused on cool parasites whete I'm just discuss why their biology is inherently cool.

The second theme i'm going to go for is debunking some of the bullshit that plagues the field. For example, this week im working on a video on why garlic isn't an effective parasite cleanser. And i've been digging into some of the instagram " health influencers" to show how these people are directly profiting from pushing this bullshit and what the actual science says about garlic.

However, before I start jumping into this second theme, I wanted to make some videos to practice the editing, the audio, and general video making skills. So i've posted a few shorts and one video i'd love to get feedback from people on anything and everything. Like is my editing too choppy is my audio bad( i have a new mic coming in the mail) are there better transitions I could be using? Maybe you have some experience video editing. You can suggest specific effects so on, so forth. I have a phd, so i'm not afraid of constructive criticism. ( One of the nicest comments I ever got from my old advisor was immediately followed by harsh criticism " i really love this one paragraph, but I really hate the rest of this paper")

So if you're interested in providing some feedback message me and I'll send you the length.

So far i plan on adding

1. the parasite disease textbook

2. microbtv This week in parasitism and this week in virology links

3. debunk the funk youtube channel (just good pro science channel that does a lot of disease stuff although not overtly parasite i think its a good resource)

4. parasites without boarders lecture serious

Does anyone else have any recommendations ?

What are we thinking lads? Some sort of Phyllodistimum, maybe P. folium?

I find it so terrifying to think that maybe some people in the past had parasites until their deaths.

Like, if you were a parasite, what’s your pick?

Edit: Thank you everyone! I’m using this as a jumping off point to read about parasites. They freak me out but I’m tryna get over it

There are a lot of interesting topics outside of aristology, but closely related to parasitology , such as virology, bacteriology, mycologyl, etc.

On the weekend, we allow posts related to these topics.

RFK is everything this sub opposes. He is anti science, he is an antivaxer ( he may say he isn't but when he is constantly using MISINFORMATION and out right lies tk question vaccines, this is antivax) and a grifter.

His possible appointment as the head of Healthcare in the country will undoubtedly lead to a rise in preventable disease. His misinformation campaign have already caused measle outbreaks and hurt countless. https://www.protectourcare.org/experts-say-deadly-samoan-measles-outbreak-caused-by-rfk-jr-s-disaster-visit/

A family friend of mine is unfortunately a rfk fan ( they're nice people just dumb) and her child is currently in the hospital because of rsv, which is a somewhat preventable disease. https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/infants-young-children/?s_cid=SEM.GA:PAI:RG_AO_GA_TM_A18_RSV-Parents-Brd:rsv%20vaccine%20for%20newborns:SEM00085&utm_id=SEM.GA:PAI:RG_AO_GA_TM_A18_RSV-Parents-Brd:rsv%20vaccine%20for%20newborns:SEM00085&gad_source=1

He profits from spreading lies and is woefully unqualified for this position.

Here is a link on to help you contact your local senator. https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

I don't care about your politics, but this sub is pro science and his appointment will lead to more antiscience and bullshit scam "cures".

Edit: if a single political post about a topic that directly impacts the field of parasitology a d health science bothers you that much. I don't care. If you can't hear a single criticism of someone who openly attacks our field, lies about data and is jeopardizing our ability to work then stop being a snowflake.

Reading about occular toxoplasmosis today and i google what rate it occurs at. The one source is found said 2% now T. Ghondi had a world wide yearly prevalence of ~ 20-30% world wide. This would mean >50 million people a year get this. And it's not like this is a poor country problem so it's under the radar, Europe has a seroprevalence of-30- 50% so that would still be millions. I feel like we would hear about it more often if it was this big of an issue.

This link says that is does often resolve on its own, so maybe that's why it doesn't seem like a huge problem? https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/ocular-toxoplasmosis-a-refresher

Tldr: would love more i sight/resources on this topic.

This has been quite the chore. Only the CDC tests in the us and not only did they mishandle my first two specimens and not follow their own guidelines, they now have the test on pause.

Looking for a lab in another country to send the specimen to for the official diagnosis.

Thank you.

I'm wondering if anyone has any good book recommendations regarding marine or aquatic parasites. I'm particularly interested in parasites that would impact economically important species but generally happy to read anything on the topic. I am specifically looking for popular science books on the subject rather than textbooks but if you have any textbook recommendations that you'd consider relatively easy reads I'd be very happy to hear about them. Thank you!