Mosquito News and Research

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Climate change spurs proliferation of disease-bearing insects, increases exposure to viral infections

Scientists at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission's science and knowledge service, find that global warming has allowed disease-bearing insects to proliferate, increasing exposure to viral infections.

16 Mar 2018

Misconceptions about MMR vaccine found to influence usage of Zika vaccine

People's willingness to use a Zika vaccine when it's available will be influenced by how they weigh the risks associated with the disease and the vaccine, but also by their misconceptions about other vaccines, a new study has found.

15 Mar 2018

Female mosquito brain map may help uncover neural circuitry behind biting and other behaviors

A mosquito's head is about the size of a pencil tip, but it packs a dangerous punch: it is the delivery system for malaria, yellow fever, and Zika, among other blood-borne diseases. In most mosquito species, females are the more dangerous sex. They're the ones drinking - and transferring - blood.

7 Mar 2018

Breakthrough study on mosquito brains could crack the code to creating viable Zika vaccine

Deakin neuro-engineers have conducted an investigation into how mosquito brains are affected by the Zika virus, in a breakthrough study that could crack the code to creating a viable vaccine.

9 Feb 2018

Human antibodies against malaria parasite can prevent spread of disease

Malaria is a disease that spreads incredibly efficiently. The antimalarial medicines that are currently used cannot do much to stop this, because the parasites remain in the patient's blood for a long time after treatment.

8 Feb 2018

Researchers discover specific taste neurons necessary for protein craving in fruit flies

A team of neuroscientists from the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, Portugal, has discovered that were it not for specific taste neurons located in the fruit fly's proboscis (the equivalent of our tongue), the fly would not develop a craving for protein even when in excruciating need of it.

5 Feb 2018

Viruses closely related to Zika may cause fetal brain damage and death, study finds

Two viruses closely related to Zika – West Nile and Powassan – can spread from an infected pregnant mouse to her fetuses, causing brain damage and fetal death, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

31 Jan 2018

Study paves new way for development of vaccines against epidemics

The search for vaccines, treatments and preventive methods against infection by emerging viruses is one of the major challenges of global epidemiology.

30 Jan 2018

New project to study effect of climate change on society's vulnerability to dengue fever

New research project will study how changes and variations in climate affect a society's vulnerability and risk of mosquito-transmitted diseases, particularly dengue fever, in Southeast Asia.

26 Jan 2018

Mosquitoes can rapidly learn and remember the smell of hosts, study shows

Your grandmother's insistence that you receive more bug bites because you're 'sweeter' may not be that far-fetched after all, according to pioneering research from Virginia Tech scientists.

25 Jan 2018

Researchers find link between genetic molecules in mosquitos and dengue fever

Researchers at the University of Missouri have found a link between genetic molecules in mosquitos and dengue fever.

25 Jan 2018

Scientists methodically identify genes related to blood feeding and non-biting mosquitoes

Researchers have taken the first step on a path that eventually could result in female mosquitoes that no longer bite and spread diseases.

19 Jan 2018

Toothpaste ingredient could be employed as anti-malarial drug against drug-resistant parasites

An ingredient commonly found in toothpaste could be employed as an anti-malarial drug against strains of malaria parasite that have grown resistant to one of the currently-used drugs.

19 Jan 2018

Study reveals how dengue virus replicates without triggering the body's defenses

A new study reveals how dengue virus manages to reproduce itself in an infected person without triggering the body's normal defenses. Duke researchers report that dengue pulls off this hoax by co-opting a specialized structure within host cells for its own purposes, like a lazy roommate sneaking bits of his laundry into the communal wash.

11 Jan 2018

Research reveals how Zika virus infection spurs fetal demise

A powerful antiviral protein may act as a checkpoint for keeping or ending a pregnancy.

5 Jan 2018

Genetic changes help mosquitoes to develop pesticide resistance

For decades, chemical pesticides have been the most important way of controlling insects like the Anopheles mosquito species that spreads malaria to humans.

4 Jan 2018

Zika pandemic remains formidable challenge to medicine and public health, say experts

Since 2016, when Zika was declared by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency of international concern, the virus has become established in more than 80 countries, infected millions of people, and left many babies with birth defects (collectively called congenital Zika syndrome).

22 Dec 2017

IU scientists discover way to make drug treatment more successful against malaria

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified a way to block the ability of parasites that cause malaria to shield themselves against drug treatments in infected mice--a finding that could lead to the development of new approaches to combat this deadly disease in humans.

14 Dec 2017

Mosquito-infected monkeys may provide better understanding of Zika transmission routes

Monkeys who catch Zika virus through bites from infected mosquitoes develop infections that look like human Zika cases, and may help researchers understand the many ways Zika can be transmitted.