When Professor John Sprent first suggested, in 1982, that the Australian Society for Parasitology should bid for the opportunity to mount the Sixth International Congress of Parasitology, the immediate reaction was one of disbelief. However, in the two years or so before ICOPA 5, in Toronto, he used his considerable powers to the utmost and spent himself unstintingly in persuading Australian parasitologists to put together a bid. The Society inevitably agreed, for it is difficult to prevent such a determined and eminent man from getting his own way! A case for an Australian venue was prepared and, as President, I was charged with the task of convincing the delegates in Toronto that Australia was worth going all the way to see. The events of that meeting are now far in the past; suffice to say that, in the end, Australia won by the narrowest of margins, largely due to the energy of my inventive colleagues who put the case for Australia at every possible and improbable moment. I do not remember a great deal about the scientific aspects of ICOPA 5. I was far too preoccupied with an awful spectre, that of telling John Sprent that I had failed, to pay attention to much other than lobbying for votes. I do remember, however, telling myself how much I would enjoy the next ICOPA without the terrible responsibility of capturing ICOPA 7.

Comparative Biochemistry of Parasites contains the proceedings of an international symposium organized by the Janssen Research Foundation and held at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium on September 1-3, 1971. The symposium reviewed progress in the understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of parasites such as protozoa and helminths. Organized into 34 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of early research on parasite biochemistry before turning to a discussion of antischistosomal drugs and their biochemical effects on parasites. The reader is then introduced to the biochemistry of carbohydrates in nematodes and cestodes; neurotransmitters in trematodes; pharmacological aspects and biochemical effects of tetramisole; the mechanism of action of berenil (Diminazene) and related compounds; and dihydrofolate reductases in parasitic protozoa and helminths. Other chapters focus on the loss of fatty acid biosynthesis in flatworms, the cytochrome system in Kinetoplastidae, oxidative phosphorylation in Moniezia mitochondria, and the role of non-heme iron in cestode respiration. Scientists, particularly physiologists and biochemists, will find this book an invaluable source of information on parasite physiology and biochemistry.

The study of parasitic organisms at the molecular level has yielded fascinating new insights of great medical, social, and economical importance, and has pointed the way for the treatment and prevention of the diseases they cause. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Parasites presents an up-to-date account of this modern scientific discipline in a manner that allows and encourages the reader to place the biochemistry and molecular biology of these organisms in their biological context. The chapters are cross-referenced and grouped in an arrangement that provides a fully integrated whole, and permits the reader to create a composite of the biochemical function of these organisms.Individual chapter includes those devoted to metabolism, in both aerobic and anaerobic protozoa; antioxidant mechanisms; parasite surfaces; organelles; invasion mechanisms; and chemotherapy. The helminths are discussed not only from the point of view of their cellular biochemistry and metabolism, but also with respect to both their integrated functions such as neurochemistry, structure and functions of surfaces, and reproduction. Written by expert investigators, this book will be of interest to all experienced researchers, graduate students, and to the newcomer eager to become familiar with the biochemistry and molecular biology of parasites.

This textbook in parasitology incorporates the spectacular advances in biological sciences within recent years. It presents students and research workers with a broad approach to the morphology, ultrastructure, speciation, life cycles, biochemistry, in vitro culture and immunology of parasitology.

Advances in Parasitology