Mosquito News and Research

RSS

What gives us sunburn protects crayfish against bacteria

The production of melanin gives us sunburns, but it also helps invertebrate animals to encapsulate attacking fungi and parasites.

25 Sep 2007

Scientists solve genetic code of parasitic worm that causes elephantiasis

More than 150 million people worldwide are infected with filarial parasites -- long, thread-like worms that can live for years inside the human body and cause severe, debilitating diseases such as elephantiasis.

21 Sep 2007

Sugar key to malaria parasite invasion

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) have identified a sugar in mosquitoes that allows the malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, to attach itself to the mosquito's gut.

11 Sep 2007

Brooklyn woman infected with West Nile virus

According to health officials in New York a 41-year-old woman from Brooklyn has become the year's first known human case of the West Nile virus in New York State.

10 Sep 2007

New understanding of malaria mosquito's olfactory system

By mapping a specialized sensory organ that the malaria mosquito uses to zero in on its human prey, an international team of researchers has taken an important step toward developing new and improved repellants and attractants that can be used to reduce the threat of malaria, generally considered the most prevalent life-threatening disease in the world.

30 Aug 2007

Discovery of key link that causes malarial infection in both humans and mosquitoes

As summer temperatures cool in the United States, fewer mosquitoes whir around our tiki torches.

30 Aug 2007

FDA approves new Roche direct detection of West Nile Virus in donated human blood

Roche Diagnostics announced that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its biologics license application for the company's test for direct detection of West Nile Virus in donated human blood and plasma.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 29 Aug 2007

Animal model for dengue research

A mosquito-borne disease often known as "break-bone fever" has found a new enemy in a unique type of mouse.

28 Aug 2007

Free distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets can save lives

Malaria is still responsible for over a million deaths every year, even though it has been known for some years that sleeping under an insecticide-treated net (ITN) greatly reduces the chance of being bitten by the mosquitoes which carry the disease.

17 Aug 2007

Nile tilapia fish beats malaria

The emerging threat of pesticide resistance means that biological malaria control methods are once again in vogue.

9 Aug 2007

First confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania

State Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson has reported this year's first confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania. The individual, a 56-year-old Clearfield County man, is recovering and has been discharged from the hospital.

3 Aug 2007

New approach to rapid identification and development of malaria vaccines

Malaria is the world's most frequent parasitic disease, affecting more than 100 countries in the tropical zones, mostly in Africa, and 40% of the world population, with more than a million deaths per year.

25 Jul 2007

Essential to devise new control strategies against malaria vectors resistant to insecticides

The mosquitoes responsible for malaria transmission to humans belong to the Anopheles genus.

18 Jul 2007

Lab-grown disease-free mosquito

A decade ago, scientists announced the ability to introduce foreign genes into the mosquito genome.

18 Jul 2007

Researchers discover why some mosquitoes are resistant to malaria

A team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has discovered why some mosquitoes are resistant to malaria, a finding that may one day help fight a disease that afflicts and kills millions of people.

9 Jul 2007

FDA approves rapid test for malaria

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing the Binax NOW Malaria Test, the first authorized U.S. rapid test for malaria, a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. The test is intended for laboratory use.

27 Jun 2007

Free insecticidal bednets, not social marketing, key to controlling malaria in Africa

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Professor Chris Curtis has joined the Earth Institute's Professor Jeffrey Sachs to call for the mass distribution of free insecticidal bed nets to replace social marketing as a means of controlling malaria in Africa.

26 Jun 2007