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.

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.

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.

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.

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.