mosquito

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Meet the Parasites That Suck Mosquitoes' Blood

Culicoid midges can hang onto hosts for days

(Newser) - Next time you're annoyed by a tenacious mosquito, you can take solace in the fact that it, too, has to deal with parasites who want to suck its blood. And, as Jennifer Frazer points out in Scientific American , the mosquito has no way of slapping the tiny creature known...

Brazil Unleashes 10K 'Good' Mosquitoes

They're infected with a bacteria that acts as a vaccine against Dengue fever

(Newser) - On the heels of similar efforts in Asia, Brazil is releasing 10,000 mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria in the hopes of halting the spread of dengue fever. Found in 60% of insects, Wolbachia acts like a vaccine against the virus, preventing it from multiplying in the carrier's...

Chikungunya Virus Moves Into US

Florida sees first locally-acquired cases

(Newser) - It's official: Chikungunya has come to the US. In the likely event you haven't heard of it, Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease that causes severe (though only occasionally fatal) fevers, joint pain, and swelling, Health Day explains. There are no treatments for it save rest and painkillers. It'...

Why Do Mosquitoes Really Like Some People?

Certain chemicals help them target us

(Newser) - At your next barbecue, your friend may be slapping mosquitoes left and right, while they just aren't that into you. Don't be insulted: It may have to do with the chemicals in your skin, Jill Richardson explains at Salon . There are 346 chemicals involved in the scent of...

Newspaper Prints Mosquito-Repellant Edition

Dengue fever is serious threat in Sri Lanka

(Newser) - There's serving your audience, and then there's this: As Sri Lanka marked National Dengue Week in April, its Mawbina newspaper put out editions that were mosquito-repellant—and those editions sold out by 10am, marking a whopping 30% spike in circulation, reports IFLScience . The papers featured pull-out ads soaked...

Next Stop for Chikungunya Virus: the US?

Mosquito-borne disease is spreading fast

(Newser) - Not that many people have heard of Chikungunya, but that may change as the highly infectious disease keeps spreading quickly through the western hemisphere. The mosquito-borne virus, which causes fever and severe joint pain, may already be in Puerto Rico, and public health officials believe it could spread to the...

Climate Change Helps Malaria Spread

 Malaria Reaching 
 Higher Altitudes 
STUDY SAYS
Mar 7, 2014 4:10 AM CST

Malaria Reaching Higher Altitudes

Rising temperatures open up new heights to parasite

(Newser) - Efforts to eradicate malaria are going to be hit hard by rising temperatures that open up new altitudes to the mosquitoes that carry the disease, researchers warn. Both mosquitoes and the malaria parasite struggle in chillier temperatures, and a new study has found that the disease climbs to higher elevations...

Did Nazis Try to Weaponize Mosquitoes?

Researcher thinks documents prove Hitler's biological weapon ban was ignored

(Newser) - Were Nazi scientists planning to unleash disease-carrying mosquitoes on the Allies? It's a long-running debate, but one biologist thinks he's uncovered evidence that indicates they were. Klaus Reinhardt believes that the entomological institute at Dachau was actually working on weaponizing mosquitoes, National Geographic reports. As evidence, he cites...

Jurassic Park-esque Find: Blood-Filled Mosquito Fossil

But don't expect dinosaurs anytime soon

(Newser) - OK, so the mosquito is only 46 million years old—too recent to have sucked dinosaur blood. But for the first time in history, scientists have found a fossilized skeeter that's still got a belly full of blood, harkening back to the plot of Jurassic Park, the Smithsonian points...

Your Body Make Its Own Mosquito Repellent
Your Body Makes Its Own Mosquito Repellent
NEW STUDY
Sep 10, 2013 11:40 AM CDT

Your Body Makes Its Own Mosquito Repellent

Cloaking compounds found on skin could be used to combat bites, disease

(Newser) - Bad news for bug spray is good news for just about everyone else: Scientists have discovered a mosquito repellent that makes humans pretty much invisible to the pesky blood suckers—and your body makes it on its own. When used in larger quantities, some 24 "cloaking compounds" found on...

New Drone Target: Mosquitoes
 New Drone Target: Mosquitoes 
Aug 27, 2013 2:41 PM CDT

New Drone Target: Mosquitoes

They'll try to find breeding areas in Florida Keys

(Newser) - The ever-expanding list of drone targets now includes mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. The drones won't be zapping or spraying the bugs, but rather looking for their breeding areas, reports the Miami Herald . The idea is to have the camera-equipped drones buzz into remote thickets and pinpoint the breeding...

Itchy? Triple the Mosquitoes Buzz US This Summer

Three years' worth of them hatched in Southeast this year

(Newser) - If the mosquito attacks seem particularly vicious this summer, it's not because the bugs have grown meaner—it's just because there's more of them. Way more of them. Two years of drought in Southeastern states meant many eggs didn't get wet enough to hatch in 2011...

What Makes You Tasty to Mosquitoes?

Pregnancy, blood type, even the clothes on your back

(Newser) - Whether you're one of those people who gets eaten alive by mosquitoes depends on some pretty tangible factors, and Smithsonian Magazine runs down the reasons that make an estimated 20% of us especially delectable to those buzzing little bloodsuckers. Without ado:
  • How much booze you drink: Turns out beer
...

Giant Mosquitoes May Strike Florida

'Gallinippers' are mean and bite hard, experts say

(Newser) - As if deadly sinkholes and Burmese pythons weren't enough, now Florida may find itself contending with another summer of giant mosquitoes that pack a ferocious bite, LiveScience reports. Dubbed gallinippers, the quarter-sized mosquitoes hatch after a flood or rainstorm, and saw a bumper crop after Tropical Storm Debby struck...

DEET Doesn't Bug Mosquitoes on Second Taste

New study shows mosquitoes get used to repellent over time

(Newser) - The ubiquitous mosquito repellent DEET is indeed extremely effective—at first. A new study finds that the pesky insects are actually able to ignore the chemical over time, reports the BBC . Alarmed by concerns that mosquitoes were developing a resistance to it, British scientists presented some A. aegypti mosquitoes (the...

Doctors: West Nile Virus May Have Dangerously Mutated

But CDC says it hasn't seen evidence of that

(Newser) - The West Nile virus appears to be ramping up attacks on the brain, say two doctors who have been treating sufferers of the virus for years, prompting fears the virus has mutated into a more threatening form. Mississippi doctor Art Leis tells the Washington Post that for the first time,...

West Nile Outbreak Worst on Record

Death toll is now 92

(Newser) - Ninety-two people have been killed so far this year by the West Nile virus, and 2,118 have reported infections, making 2012 the worst year on record, according to health officials. The number of West Nile deaths spiked 25% over the past week alone, reports USA Today . Infected patients have...

West Nile Death Toll Hits 66
 West Nile Death Toll Hits 66 
Aug 29, 2012 12:41 PM CDT

West Nile Death Toll Hits 66

People in hard-hit states urged to avoid mosquitoes

(Newser) - At least 66 people have now died in one of the worst West Nile virus outbreaks the US has ever seen. Infections shot up 40% this week, with a total of 1,590 now having fallen ill, USA Today reports. Health officials are warning Americans to do their best to...

Dallas Declares West Nile Virus Emergency

381 cases in Texas, with 16 reported deaths statewide

(Newser) - After suffering 10 deaths from the West Nile virus so far this year, Dallas County has declared a state of emergency, setting the stage for aerial anti-mosquito spraying. The disease is surging in the state, which has seen at least 381 cases this year, compared to just 27 last year;...

Don&#39;t Swim After Eating? That&#39;s Bunk

 Don't Swim After 
 Eating? That's Bunk 
summer myths
Jun 24, 2012 12:37 PM CDT

Don't Swim After Eating? That's Bunk

Also: Don't pee on jellyfish stings

(Newser) - There are so many myths about summer safety, it's a wonder anyone has any fun. Heard that poison ivy is contagious? Not true. Scared of swallowing watermelon seeds? They'll just pass through you. The Washington Post debunks a host of summer myths:
  • Mosquitoes love people who taste sweet?
...

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