A warming climate may change the types of viruses that thrive. A new report suggests that the threat of malaria may be replaced by dengue, for which there is no treatment and no cure.
Brian Allan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Chris Stone, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Holly Tuten, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jennifer Kuzma, North Carolina State University et Natalie Kofler, Harvard University
Release of GM mosquitoes in Florida is imminent. But a multidisciplinary team of scientists believe that more studies are needed first. They encourage a publicly accessible registry for GM organisms.
Mosquito-borne dengue virus returned to central Queensland after being absent for decades. But while most Australian cases involve travellers, this one is locally acquired.
Been on a tropical holiday? You might have brought home more than just a new sarong and extra colour in your cheeks – perhaps a mosquito that spreads dengue, or another known as ‘the BBQ stopper’.
Vast amounts of standing water in Houston and other hurricane-flooded areas are dangerous not only because of toxins. The water is a dangerous breeding ground for mosquitoes that transmit Zika.
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?
Upscaling the success of emerging mosquito control technologies relies on automating the rearing and release of millions of mosquitoes. Australia is to become the testing ground for a novel strategy.
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.
A computer model suggests that while more cases of Zika can be expected in the continental U.S. outbreaks will probably be small and are not projected to spread.
How do we convince people that spreading Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes can eliminate dengue when they have long came to understand that mosquitoes transmit dengue?
Look beyond transgenic techniques that add new genes to a species. People have used selective breeding techniques to change plants and animals for millennia – why not try them on mosquitoes?
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.
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.