The Origins and Specificity of Parasites

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the origins of parasites, their relationship to their host and how they have evolved in tandem with many other organisms. The paper seeks to answer several questions including why parasites live where they do and how the origins of evolution affect different parasites, specifically RNA and what role protozoans play in the life of parasites. The paper also discusses the process of Co-evolution and the effect that a parasite's long-term residence has on the body of different species, including humans.

From the Paper:

"However, it is once an organism has taken up residence inside another organism, that a second and crucial process comes into play. This is the process of Co-evolution. Co-evolution is based relatively simply on the fact that Evolution is a non-stop process. All species are continually changing and developing. Genetic mutations, errors in the copying of DNA and RNA, lead to minute, or even at times, dramatic changes that might be either beneficial or maladaptive. In the normal course of things the maladaptive forms will die out, while the successful adaptations will survive as a result of those organisms that possess them living on to reproduce. The same process of evolution is at work both in host and parasite. As the host itself changes, the environment inside it changes as well. Subtle differences in conditions might mean death a microorganism living inside the body of another animal."

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