Several sites in the US are releasing bacteria-infected mosquitoes as a way to fight mosquito-borne viruses that threaten people. What's the science – and how well will it work?
Revellers at a carnival in Sao Paulo wear mosquito masks in a reference to the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can spread dengue and Zika on February 4, 2016.
Paulo Whitaker/Reuters
Our immune system protects us but when it comes to some mosquito-borne disease, it can work against us. What are the implications for the development of a Zika virus vaccine?
New research shows common local mosquitoes aren’t able to spread Zika. This means Australia is unlikely to see a major outbreak of the disease. But a risk remains in northern Queensland.
Imagine if all these people were gathering valuable data for public benefit?
Scott Cresswell/Flickr
If we can solve the privacy issues, placing trackers on people and the things we make can teach us a great deal about ourselves and the world around us.
Sorting pupae of genetically modified mosquitoes before release to the wild.
Paulo Whitaker/Reuters
Insecticides and mosquito nets only get you so far. Synthetic biologists are ready to take the battle against mosquito-borne disease to the level of DNA – which might spell the insects’ ultimate doom.
Models based on where the mosquitoes that transmit Zika are found and human travel patterns to and from infected areas are key to predicting where the virus will spread.
The link between microcephaly in unborn children and Zika hasn’t been definitely confirmed, but vaccine development is a top priority.
Percio Campos/EPA
As Zika fear rises, people are inevitably asking why we don't have a vaccine to protect against the mosquito-borne virus.
Municipal workers wait before spraying insecticide to prevent the spread of Aedes aegypti mosquito at Sambodrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 26, 2016.
Pilar Olivares/Reuters
Zika was discovered almost 70 years ago, but wasn't associated with outbreaks until 2007. So how did this formerly obscure virus wind up causing so much trouble in Brazil?
There is little doubt the virus can make it to Australia.
mrfiza/Shutterstock
We monitor mosquitoes to help predict and control virus outbreaks. And a new technique for collecting mosquito saliva from the field has made the process both more sensitive and inexpensive.
Will climate change cause mosquito-borne diseases to spread?
Steve Doggett
The UK's recent heatwave is perfect for mosquito breeding but something far more dangerous may be coming.
An historian reading the government White Paper on developing northern Australia will realise we’re actually heading all the way back to the 1890s.
andrew matthews/Flickr
The federal government's recent White Paper on developing northern Australia has disturbing echoes of the 1890s, a time when unbridled capitalism and indentured labour developed the North.
Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes transmit dengue fever when enjoying blood meals.
James Gathany
Annihilate the Aedes aegypti mosquito population and you'd stop dengue fever from infecting up to 100 million people worldwide annually. Here are some high-tech methods under development.
A changing climate may contribute to more mosquito-borne disease, but it doesn’t guarantee it.
john dunstan/Flickr
Mosquitoes need blood to survive. And what better place to get a good meal than a slow, tasty human. Mosquitoes aren’t just annoying. Every year around 5,000 Australians get sick following a mosquito bite…
