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, and 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.
Feel like mosquitoes are picking you out of a crowd when looking for someone to bite? It may come down to the smell of your skin and how heavily you breathe.
Temperatures are soaring and bushfires are decimating Australia’s wildlife. So how can we avoid creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes when putting water out for thirsty birds and animals?
Nuisance-biting and mosquito-borne disease are ongoing concerns for health authorities. But an effective citizen science program is now showing how all of us can help beat the bite of mozzies.
Mosquitoes have intricate and essential relationships with plants. Understanding their important work as pollinators would help to understand their role in different ecosystems.
Mosquitoes love sugar – so much so that can delay their search for our blood. Now, their sweet tooth may have revealed an important genetic weapon against the spread of mosquito-borne disease.
In the ongoing arms race to kill off mosquitoes that spread malaria, researchers have modified a naturally occurring fungus that kills mosquitoes with a deadly toxin to wipe out these insects faster.
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.
Alarm bells went off when several recent studies reported mass insect die-offs in different parts of the world. But reports of an ‘insect apocalypse’ have been greatly exaggerated.
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’.
Ticks are generally inactive in the winter and start to look for their next meal as temperatures warm up. But as winters warm, every season may become tick season.
Principal Medical Scientist and Head of Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research, National Institute for Communicable Diseases