Getty Images Scientists believe they have found a quirky way to fight mosquito-spread diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika – by turning male insects deaf so they struggle to mate and breed. Mosquitoes have sex while flying in mid-air and the males rely on hearing to chase down a female, based on her … Read more
Zika and dengue fever viruses alter the scent of humans and mice they infect, researchers say. Source link
May 9, 2022 — Genetically modified mosquitoes released in the U.S. appear to have passed an early test that suggests they might one day help reduce the population of insects that transmit infectious diseases. As part of the test, scientists released nearly 5 million genetically engineered male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes over the course of 7 … Read more
April 20, 2022 The first open-air study of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States has yielded positive results, says Oxitec, the UK-based company that ran the study. However, Oxitec says larger tests are needed to determine whether the insects can suppress the disease-spreading mosquito population in the wild, according to Nature. Dengue, Zika, and … Read more
March 9, 2022 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the release of 2 billion genetically altered mosquitoes in Florida and California, the company that created the genetically modified mosquitoes said. The experimental program created by Oxitec is designed to reduce the transmission of harmful diseases such as dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. The program … Read more
Dec. 2, 2021 — The parasite that causes malaria can kill a person within 24 hours of symptoms appearing. Patients’ symptoms are flu-like, including a fever, headache, and chills. It all starts with a microscopic poke. When a malaria-infected mosquito plunges her needle-like mouth through human skin, she releases immature forms of the parasites, called … Read more
Aug. 11, 2021 — There were 200 hungry mosquitoes in the Plexiglas enclosure volunteers agreed to sit in so scientists could test their new bug-resistant fabric to see whether individuals wearing it got mosquito bites. The live, disease-free mosquitoes were starved overnight and yet they did not bite, report researchers led by senior author … Read more
By Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The death of a Miami woman in her 30s from locally acquired dengue fever highlights the need for awareness of a potentially fatal mosquito-borne virus that’s now found in the United States. Once only seen in hot and steamy tropical or subtropical locales, … Read more
Mosquitoes are troublesome. A mosquito bite is capable of causing pain and irritation and even causes diseases like dengue, malaria and yellow fever. But what attracts mosquitoes to human blood in the first place? A study reveals that they are not attracted to “simple flavours like sweet or salty, but only a complex combination of … Read more