Understanding historical bacteria evolution could lead to better infection control in the future. About 5,000 years ago, a bacterium that was primarily transmitted via ticks made a switch to louse.

A University of Utah study showing how lice evolved with the people they infested reveals that a now-extinct species of early human came into direct contact with our species about 25,000 years ago and ...

Numerous insects, including mites, lice, fleas, ticks, and bed bugs, can inhabit or visit the human body. These creatures feed on blood, skin cells, or oils, potentially causing itching, rashes, or ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Clues to human evolution generally come from fossils left by ancestors and the molecular trail encoded in the human genome as it is tweaked over generations. However, some ...

Head lice have been constant, if unwanted, human companions for as long as our species has been around. Evidence of this ancient connection includes a 10,000-year-old louse found on human remains at ...

Head lice are considered a nuisance — a pest to be evicted from the hair on your head or the head of a loved one with a special comb or shampoo. But there's more to lice than their elimination. These ...

The jumpy parasites have followed our ancestors around for at least 25 million years, adapting along with us through major upheavals. By Carl Zimmer Along our evolutionary journey from monkey-like ...

‘Lice are like living fossils we carry around on our own heads.’ By Laura Baisas Published Nov 8, 2023 2:00 PM EST Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 ...

Lice have been bugging humans for as long as our species has been around, and the insects’ genes record the story of their hosts’ global voyages, a study finds. Lice DNA suggests that the scalp ...