Tight-space seeking may help explain why a ‘brain-eating amoeba’ ends up in the brain
News from Science reports Naegleria fowleri usually eats bacteria; a study suggests tight spaces may help it find prey.
TLDR
News from Science reports that Naegleria fowleri can travel from a swimmer’s nose along nerve fibers to the brain, where it can cause an almost universally fatal infection. A recent study suggests the amoeba’s tendency to seek tight spaces may help it find prey—and could explain why it sometimes ends up deep in the human brain.
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