Throughout the day, our skins are constantly sending out messages that we are completely oblivious to. The message is written in chemical form and it says, “Here I am. Come and get me”. We neither see nor hear these signals but other creatures do, and they slither, crawl and swim our way in response.

These creatures are nematodes, a group of worms that are some of the most common animals on the planet. The vast majority of nematode species are parasites, and hundreds of species count humans among their potential hosts. In the developing countries of the tropics and sub-tropics, parasitic nematodes pose a major health problem, causing illness, stunted physical and mental development, anaemia and more. Just two species, the