Female mosquitoes don’t want to lay their eggs alone, but they don’t want sites that are too crowded either. Understanding what guides their choice could inform new control strategies.
It’s hot and humid. With mosquitoes about, applying insect repellent creams, sprays and lotions may not feel good. But how do the alternatives stack up?
Warm weather has arrived and that means our annual battle against mosquitoes is back on. Here are five ways to mosquito-proof your backyard that don’t rely on spraying insecticides.
Murray Valley encephalitis has been detected in south-eastern Australia. No human cases have yet been reported, but past outbreaks after floods show we need to be cautious.
Mozzies can make you sick by injecting a cocktail of saliva and virus when they bite. Ross River virus has long been a risk but now we’re also contending with the more serious Japanese encephalitis.
The mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus has been detected for the first time in southeastern Australia, in pigs at a pig farm. So what threat does it pose to human health?
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.
The aim is to discover, develop and facilitate delivery of anti-malarial medicines to help tackle the burden of malaria in endemic countries and support malaria eradication.
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.
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.
Thousands of Australians contract Ross River virus each year. Mozzies can infect us with their bites, but only after they’ve bitten an infected animal host.
Cameron Webb, South Western Sydney Local Health District
The sounds of mosquitoes may be annoying to many but tuning into their musical whines could help design new mosquito traps. Just don’t expect sounds from your smartphone to protect you from bites!
In the future, traps for mosquito that spread the dengue and chikungunya virus could be made from the carbon dioxide in human breathe as well as body odour.
The mozzies are coming! A mosquito emoji will be available on your devices in mid 2018, providing a new angle for communicating the science and health implications of these very dangerous insects.
Professor of Organic Chemistry, Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery & Development, and Director of the Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre, University of Cape Town