The World Health Organization will release its World Malaria Report 2024 early next week. If you are preparing a story about this year’s report or writing broadly about malaria trends, the following researchers from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute…
Tag: Mosquito
Natural volatiles preventing mosquito biting: an integrated screening platform for accelerated discovery of ORco antagonists
Insect olfactory receptors are heteromeric ligand-gated cation channels composed of an obligatory receptor subunit, ORco, and one of many variable subunits, ORx, in as yet undefined molar ratios. When expressed alone ex vivo, ORco forms homotetrameric channels gated by ORco-specific ligands…
Hurricane impacts on mosquito populations
University of Miami health geographer Imelda Moise led a study that found mosquito populations in Miami-Dade County increased dramatically after Hurricane Irma.
What should I know about Eastern Equine Encephalitis?
With recent reporting of a Massachusetts man being infected with the mosquito-borne Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus, people trying to enjoy the last days of summer are being cautioned. An infectious disease expert from Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center shares some answers.
World Mosquito Day + dengue, malaria: Johns Hopkins experts available
This week, ahead of World Mosquito Day on Tuesday, August 20, top experts from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are available for interviews to discuss the ongoing threat of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. The…
Have a mosquito problem? Look for them close to home, says expert
You’re settling down in your patio chair, ready to enjoy a book, a pitcher of lemonade, and the sun-warmed breeze, when a mosquito settles down on your arm. And another lands on your leg, while another buzzes right by your ear. Virginia Tech entomologist Eric Day says that when it comes to controlling mosquitoes, there aren’t easy short cuts.
Johns Hopkins Expert Briefing on Malaria – Current Research, Transmission Risks, and Reasons for Optimism
Ahead of World Malaria Day, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will host an expert briefing for the media about efforts to control and prevent malaria around the world. Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that in 2022 took…
How mosquito-controlling bacteria might also enhance insect fertility
Biological mechanisms found in fruit flies could inform efforts against disease-spreading mosquitos.
Mozzie Monitors all a-buzz for SA schools
Longer days and warmer nights, it’s the perfect recipe for mosquito season. But before you reach for the repellent, did you know that some species of mosquitoes rarely touch a drop of blood, instead favouring flower nectar? Or that mosquitoes only smell with their feet?
Scientists seek to lure mosquitoes, build better surveillance system for southeast region with USDA-NIFA grant
UF scientists will develop a low-cost mosquito trap to lure the insects and create a web-based dashboard to improve surveillance across the southeast United States
Discovery in Mosquitoes Could Lead to New Strategy Against Dengue Fever and Other Mosquito-Borne Vectors
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have made an important finding about Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—one that could one day lead to better methods for reducing the mosquito-to-human transmission of dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and other harmful and sometimes deadly viruses.
WashU Expert: How to avoid mosquito bites
In suburban backyards and at family picnic gatherings across the United States, mosquitoes are a common pest. People are most likely to get bitten by mosquitoes during the warm and lazy summer months, says Katie Westby, vector and disease ecologist at Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis’ environmental field station in Eureka, Mo.
Virginia Tech researchers conduct proof-of-concept study on mosquito’s scent preferences
Humans smell. Each and every person has a unique body odor. People have been using commercial products to alter their scent for generations. From soaps to perfumes, people gravitate to floral and fruity smells. Whether we think these smells are good or bad is of little consequence to mosquitoes, transmitters of diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Studying mosquito immune cells could improve understanding of disease transmission
A recent study led by an Iowa State University entomologist explores the different kinds of cells that make up mosquito immune systems. The research could shed light on how mosquitoes transmit malaria.
UCI researchers examine larval ecology of invasive mosquitoes, known tropical disease vectors in Orange County
In the past several decades, rapid urbanization has created new habitats and may alter the conditions of habitats for mosquitoes that can pass potentially fatal diseases to humans. In urban areas around the world, researchers are finding more mosquito larval…
Weizmann Institute Optogeneticists Use Mosquito Rhodopsins to Boost Brain Research
The Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Ofer Yizhar and colleagues used mosquito rhodopsins to create an optogenetics tool that is more precise, selective, and controllable than current techniques. In addition to increasing our understanding of the brain and advancing the field of optogenetics, the technology could lead to improved therapies for neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Researchers Unveil Detailed Genome of Invasive Malaria Mosquito
Researchers have produced a groundbreaking new reference genome for the Asian malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi. The achievement will help scientists engineer advanced forms of defense against malaria transmission, including targeted CRISPR and gene drive-based strategies.
Imitation Mosquito Ears Help Identify Mosquito Species and Sex
Using an imitation “ear” modeled on the organs that mosquitos use to hear, researchers have identified a mosquito’s species and sex using sound — just like mosquitos do themselves. The researchers hope this bioinspired detector could someday be used in the field to save lives by aiding in more selective pesticide use and possibly preventing mosquitos from mating. A presentation of the new research will be given as part of the 179th ASA Meeting.
Light pollution may increase biting behavior at night in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
Artificial light abnormally increases mosquito biting behavior at night in a species that typically prefers to bite people during the day, according to research from the University of Notre Dame that was published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Zika infections drastically underreported during 2015 epidemic
More than 100 million infections of Zika virus within Central and South America and the Caribbean went undetected between 2015 and 2018, according to a new study.
Former advisor to the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Program available to talk about recent EPA decisions on pesticides
In the wake of the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent release of interim decisions on glyphosate and neonicotinoids, chemicals used in agriculture that have been linked to adverse effects, Former advisor to the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Program and Clinical Professor…
Mosquitoes are drawn to flowers as much as people — and now scientists know why
Scientists have identified the chemical cues in flowers that stimulate mosquitoes’ sense of smell and draw them in. Their findings show how cues from flowers can stimulate the mosquito brain as much as a warm-blooded host — information that could help develop less toxic repellents and better traps.
Mosquitoes more likely to lay eggs in closely spaced habitats
Patches of standing water that are close together are more likely to be used by mosquitoes to lay eggs in than patches that are farther apart, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.
Mosquitoes push northern limits with time-capsule eggs to survive winters
Invasive mosquitoes at the northern limit of their current range are surviving conditions that are colder than those in their native territory. This new evidence of rapid local adaptation could have implications for efforts to control the spread of this invasive species.