--- description: President Barack Obama is a parasite, officially. Scientists have named a tiny flatworm after the commander-in-chief as an honor title: President Barack Obama Is Officially a Parasite, Scientists Say image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ff513ba787e0443/6988a554a988ca17096b95af/barack-obama-parasite.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Barack Obama Is a Parasite, According to Scientists  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 8, 2016 11:35 PM CUT  U.S. President Barack Obama waves to reporters after returning to the White House on Sept. 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Barack Obama waves to reporters after returning to the White House on Sept. 3, 2015 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 8, 2016 11:35 PM CUT President Barack Obama is a [parasite](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FOBAMA%5FTHE%5FPARASITE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined"), officially. Scientists have named a tiny flatworm after the [commander-in-chief](http://time.com/4483650/obama-duterte-son-of-a-whore-asean/?xid=homepage "undefined"), insisting it’s an honor. Thomas Platt, a retired biology professor at Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, told the Associated Press he discovered the 2-inch parasite and named it [Baracktrema obamai ](http://www.journalofparasitology.org/doi/full/10.1645/15-893 "undefined")because it reminds him of the President—in a good way. “It’s long. It’s thin. And it’s cool as hell,” he said Thursday. Platt added that Baracktrema obamai, which lives in turtles’ blood, are “phenomenally incredibly resilient organisms.” The study about the new parasite was recently published in the [_Journal of Parasitology_](http://www.journalofparasitology.org/doi/full/10.1645/15-893 "undefined")_._ \[[_AP_](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FOBAMA%5FTHE%5FPARASITE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4484828/barack-obama-parasite/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4484828/barack-obama-parasite/"},"headline":"President Barack Obama Is a Parasite, According to Scientists","datePublished":"2016-09-08T23:35:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:08:51.210Z","description":"A parasite that lives in turtles' blood has been named after the President","url":"https://time.com/4484828/barack-obama-parasite/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ff513ba787e0443/6988a554a988ca17096b95af/barack-obama-parasite.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ff513ba787e0443/6988a554a988ca17096b95af/barack-obama-parasite.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama Returns To The White House","caption":"President Obama Returns To The White House","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4484828/barack-obama-parasite/","name":"President Barack Obama Is a Parasite, According to Scientists"}}]}] ```