Parasitic wasps use calcium pump to block fruit fly immunity
Monday, May 20, 2013 - 18:00
in Biology & Nature
Parasitic wasps switch off the immune systems of fruit flies by draining calcium from the flies' blood cells, a finding that offers new insight into how pathogens break through a host's defenses. Researchers say their findings have uncovered an important component of cellular immunity, one that parasites have learned to take advantage of.