the.com/plasmodium
A malaria parasite with a life cycle so complicated it needs two hosts just to show off.
means A genus of single-celled parasites that causes malaria by infecting red blood cells, cycling between mosquitoes and vertebrate hosts to complete its life cycle.
from Built from Greek plasma, 'something molded or formed' (the same root behind 'plasma' and 'plastic'), plus the diminutive-ish suffix -odium/-oid, giving roughly 'little formed thing.' The name was coined in the 1800s for the amoeba-like, shape-shifting mass the organism forms as it creeps through and consumes blood cells — a nod to its blobby, mold-like appearance rather than to its medical menace, which scientists only pieced together later.
- host hop
- shuttles between mosquito gut and human liver
- death toll
- kills over 600,000 people yearly, mostly children
- disguise trick
- hides inside your own red blood cells
- name twist
- also describes a slime mold blob, unrelated and harmless