Friday, October 9, 2026
Science

Harmless amoeba's tight-space crawling offers clues to how its deadly relative invades the brain

Tiny, shapeless invaders can find their way from ponds to the human brain and cause an infection so severe that it has a 95% fatality rate. The amoeba Naegleria fowleri naturally lives in ponds, feasting on bacteria, but once it enters the human body, it makes a run for the brain tissue, traversing...

Harmless amoeba's tight-space crawling offers clues to how its deadly relative invades the brain
Image: Phys.org
Tiny, shapeless invaders can find their way from ponds to the human brain and cause an infection so severe that it has a 95% fatality rate. The amoeba Naegleria fowleri naturally lives in ponds, feasting on bacteria, but once it enters the human body, it makes a run for the brain tissue, traversing complex, tight spaces to reach its destination.

Originally published at Phys.org

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