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Figure 2 - Hypothesized reconstruction of the Trichomonas-like infection of a Tyrannosaurus rex. Parasites have plagued vertebrates for a very, very long time. They have co-evolved with us and our evolutionary ancestors over many millions of years.

The Hygiene Hypothesis, Part 3. Are Parasitic Worms Friend or Foe?

... . The question we're now looking at is: why? 'Why' questions in biology require evolutionary explanations; it is ... as many offspring. Thus, the two species propel each-other to ever greater sprinting speeds ( Figure 3 ). ... and a special band of cells that suppress the activity of other immunological cells, called regulatory T cells , or T ...

Electron micrograph of an adult male Schistosoma parasite worm. The bar (bottom left) represents a magnification of 0.5mm.

The Hygiene Hypothesis Unraveled

... immune system , which evolved to fight off infections and other harmful agents, like bacteria and viruses, ... diseases. Anne Cooke has also shown that a range of other helminths, such as Heligmosomoides polygyrus and ... in the United States thinks that the answer to both those questions is a resounding yes, as we'll discuss in the next ...