Heat shock protein appears to turn on Schistosoma invasion

The heat shock protein Hsp70, known for helping cells withstand stress, may also act as a switch that triggers free-swimming Schistosoma larvae to begin penetrating the skin and transforming into the parasitic flatworms that infect more than 240 million people worldwide with schistosomiasis. The finding could lead to targets for disease-preventing medicines and opens the possibility other disease-causing parasites use the protein to invade hosts.