To stop mosquito-transmitted illnesses, pay attention to how humans behave: study

Targeting the mosquito population within a defined area is the primary way scientists and public health officials mitigate the spread of diseases caused by viruses like Zika, dengue fever, and West Nile. But researchers have discovered that evaluating how humans…

Mosquito incognito: Could graphene-lined clothing help prevent mosquito bites?

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The nanomaterial graphene has received significant attention for its potential uses in everything from solar cells to tennis rackets. But a new study by Brown University researchers finds a surprising new use for the material:…

Researcher works to understand how gonorrhea develops resistance to antibiotics

Steadily and relentlessly, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea has slipped past medicine’s defenses, acquiring resistance to once-reliable drugs, including penicillin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin. These former stalwarts are no longer used to treat the sexually transmitted disease. In 2010, after some…

Texas cities increasingly susceptible to large measles outbreaks

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 21, 2019 – The growing number of children arriving at Texas schools unvaccinated makes the state increasingly vulnerable to measles outbreaks in cities large and small, according to a computer simulation created by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate…

As whooping cough evolves, WVU researcher studies how to maintain vaccine’s effectiveness

Scientists and bacteria are locked in an arms race. Over time, bacteria can evolve to resist today’s powerful vaccines. Bordetella pertussis–which causes pertussis, or whooping cough–is no different. Although the current vaccines that protect against it are highly effective–plunging the…

Ancient feces reveal how ‘marsh diet’ left Bronze Age Fen folk infected with parasites

New research published today in the journal Parasitology shows how the prehistoric inhabitants of a settlement in the freshwater marshes of eastern England were infected by intestinal worms caught from foraging for food in the lakes and waterways around their…

Birth defects associated with Zika virus infection may depend on mother’s immune response

New research led by scientists at The Rockefeller University in New York may help explain why Zika virus infection causes birth defects in some children but not others. The study, which will be published August 14 in the Journal of…

Study predicts modest impact from additional dose of rotavirus vaccine

New Haven, Conn. — Giving children an additional dose of rotavirus vaccine when they are nine months old would provide only a modest improvement in the vaccine’s effectiveness in low-income countries concerned about waning protection against the highly contagious disease,…