mosquito

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Rather Than Dodge Deadly Raindrops, Mosquitoes Catch a Ride

It's how they survive water's impact

(Newser) - How can a tiny mosquito survive the force of an incoming raindrop—which, to them, is like a three-ton ball of water falling at 20mph? "They're basically plummeting comets falling all around you," if you're the bug, a scientist tells NPR . He and colleagues set out...

City-Loving Mosquitoes Invade the US

Asian invaders like metro areas and bite during the day

(Newser) - Apparently mosquitos have big-city dreams, too. American cities are under siege by so-called "urban mosquitos" that are attracted to metropolitan areas, are ferocious, and bite during daytime. One big offender is the Asian tiger mosquito, which first arrived in the US in 1985 via eggs hidden in a shipment...

Smelly Socks Could Stop Malaria

Scent lures infected mosquitoes into traps

(Newser) - Your smelly clothes hamper could soon save lives. Researchers in Tanzania are testing dirty socks as a way to prevent malaria, reports the Washington Post . The scent of the socks lure mosquitoes infected with the disease into traps, where they're poisoned and die. If it works, it'll provide...

Breakthrough Promises Vastly Better Bug Repellents

New compound 'thousands time more effective than DEET'

(Newser) - Life may soon get a lot tougher for mosquitos and other bugs that like to dine on human blood. Researchers have discovered a compound that completely jams an insect's sense of smell, making it much harder for mosquitos to find their prey, Discover reports. Early tests suggest that the...

Future Bug Repellent: Grapefruit?

All-natural chemical sends mosquitos, ticks fleeing

(Newser) - Repelled by bug repellent? The answer to your bug-blocking needs may be found in a grapefruit. A chemical called nootkatone found in citrus fruit and certain Alaskan trees works wonders against mosquitos, ticks, and probably bedbugs—and it’s likely safe enough to drink, NPR reports. “If you've...

Fungus Cures Mosquitoes of Malaria

May prove durable weapon against the spread of the disease

(Newser) - Scientists are trying a new approach to stop the spread of malaria: Rather than attempt to kill the mosquitoes outright, they're using a genetically-altered fungus to kill the parasite in the mosquitoes who spread it, NPR reports. "The trick we did was to engineer the fungus so that it...

Mutating Malaria Mosquito Breeds Panic

Deadly insect splitting into two species

(Newser) - Scientists battling the deadliest creature on Earth have been alarmed to discover that it is rapidly evolving into two distinct species. The Anopheles gambiae mosquito, responsible for some million deaths from malaria every year, has split into two genetically different strains, the Independent reports. Scientists warn that this will complicate...

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Battle Dengue

Malaysian scientists to release males into wild to breed

(Newser) - Malaysia could be the first country in Asia to use genetically modified mosquitoes to battle a rise in dengue fever, government authorities said today. The program calls for genetically engineered male mosquitoes to be released into the wild that would mate with females and produce offspring that live shorter lives,...

Genetically Modified Mosquito May End Malaria

Disease-resistant insect could be new tool

(Newser) - Researchers from the University of Arizona have developed a genetically modified mosquito that is immune to the malaria parasite and thus unable to transmit the illness to people. The new mosquito could eventually help control or even eliminate the disease. Malaria infects more than 250 million yearly, resulting in a...

Dengue Fever Reaches Florida
 Dengue Fever Reaches Florida 
Jul 14, 2010 4:25 AM CDT

Dengue Fever Reaches Florida

Tropical disease threatens to spread north

(Newser) - Dengue fever, the most prevalent virus spread by mosquitoes globally, poses a growing threat across the world's tropical zones, from Southeast Asia to Central America—and now, Florida. Dengue virus is showing up in the Florida Keys, the CDC reported yesterday, with 5 percent of Key West residents exposed to...

Stress Keeps Mosquitoes Away
 Stress Keeps Mosquitoes Away 
Sep 2, 2009 8:46 AM CDT

Stress Keeps Mosquitoes Away

Scientists near bug spray derived from body chemicals

(Newser) - Mosquito magnets, take note: British scientists have identified which bodily chemical odors make some people less attractive to mosquitoes, and they may be ones related to stress, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s thought that the insects avoid anxious people in favor of healthier prey, a finding that could...

Mosquito Invasion Threatens Galapagos Wildlife

(Newser) - Scientists fear that winged invaders could wipe out native species on the islands where Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution, the Times of London reports. Mosquitoes have been hitching rides to the Galapagos on incoming aircraft, and now Galapagos species—including iguanas, tortoises, and Darwin's finches—are in serious...

'Star Wars' Scientists Take Aim at Mosquitoes

Anti-malaria Weapons of Mosquito Destruction can zap bugs 100ft away with lasers

(Newser) - Rocket scientists who worked on ways to beat Soviet missiles a generation ago are now using their lasers to zap mosquitoes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Researchers looking for ways to combat malaria have rejigged "Star Wars" technology to create a contraption that can pick off individual mosquitoes from...

Gates Lets Mosquitoes Fly at Audience

Stunt underscores malaria threat shouldn't be for 'only poor people'

(Newser) - Bill Gates had the audience buzzing yesterday as he released a jar of mosquitoes at the TED2009 conference in California during a presentation on eradicating malaria, reports MSNBC. The bugs were not carrying the disease. "Not only poor people should experience this," Gates explained, according to a witness...

Mosquitoes Sing Love Songs

(Newser) - Birds and bees get all the attention, but mosquitoes have some love moves all their own, scientists say. It seems that when a boy mosquito meets a girl and things turn romantic, their wings beat at precisely the same speed to create a sort of harmonic mating song, the BBC...

Foreclosed Pools a Mecca for Skateboarders

Pool builders hard hit by housing crisis

(Newser) - Skateboarders in California are making the most of the mortgage crisis: they’re turning the swimming pools at foreclosed homes into skate parks. Tracking local foreclosures, one Fresno skater arrives at empty homes with a pump and buckets, drains the pools, and hops on his board, the New York Times ...

Mosquitoes: a Cure for Malaria?
 Mosquitoes: a Cure for Malaria? 
Glossies
Dec 13, 2008 4:02 AM CST

Mosquitoes: a Cure for Malaria?

Scientist takes risks to find cure

(Newser) - Mosquitoes land, swap a little of your blood for parasites that head straight to your liver, and so cause a million malaria-related deaths every year, writes Jason Fagone in Esquire. But what if you took those same mosquitoes and irradiated them? You get weakened parasites that make the perfect vaccine,...

Watershed Vaccine May End Malaria Toll

If trials work as expected, shots could save millions of children

(Newser) - Scientists have developed a promising vaccine against malaria, a devastating disease that kills a milion people a year, most of them young children. Trials of the breakthrough vaccine enter the final phase next year and it could be widely available by 2012, reports the Los Angeles Times. Successful trials have...

Cheap Malaria Drug Holds Promise for Millions

It's based on 2000-year-old herbal remedy

(Newser) - The lives of millions of children  may be saved by a new technique for producing a malaria drug at a 10th of the cost of current treatments, making it accessible the world's most impoverished people, reports the Independent.  The technique involves inserting a dozen synthetic genes into yeast cells,...

$10 Mosquito Nets Move Young Donors to Save Lives

Malaria solution is hands-on way to help

(Newser) - Mosquito nets, at $10 a pop, are a low-cost, effective way to prevent malaria—and they've become a cause célèbre for young people across the country, who've raised millions in donation drives, the New York Times reports. “You can say $10 saves a life,” says one...

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