For decades, E. histolytica has stumped researchers struggling to explain how the parasite so successfully evades the immune system. “You could see little parts of the human cell being broken off,” Ralston said of her very first encounter with the parasite. To escape them, E. histolytica ingests specific proteins from human cell outer membranes, then places those proteins on its own outer surface. Essentially, E. histolytica wears chunks of human cells as a disguise against its host’s immune system. The team proposes combining their RNAi library with CRISPR gene-editing technology in order to label certain amoeba proteins with fluorescent markers.