Common bacterium may help control disease-bearing mosquitoes

Yale: Genes from a common bacterium can be harnessed to sterilize male insects, a tool that can potentially control populations of both disease-bearing mosquitoes and agricultural pests, researchers at Yale University and Vanderbilt University report in related studies published Feb. 27 in two Nature journals. The studies highlight the peculiar reproductive role of Wolbachia bacteria, which are found in the testes and ovaries of most insect species. Eggs fail to develop when fertilized by infected males, a process called cytoplasmic incompatibility. However, when females are also infected with Wolbachia, healthy embryos can develop.

what are antibodies and why are viruses like dengue worse the second time?

TheConversation: Our immune system is like a highly trained army. It fends off invading pathogens, usually very effectively. The problem is that sometimes it makes mistakes and attacks us. This can result in allergies, autoimmune diseases or just misfires in the immune system’s attack of invading cells.
But there’s another way the immune system can fail us – by throwing down the welcome mat for viruses on their second invasion.

Researcher to Develop Artificial Blood for Mosquitoes

Kentucky: A “nuisance” is probably one of the nicest things people call mosquitoes. Mosquitoes have been called the deadliest animal on the planet because of the diseases they spread. So why would researchers want to develop an artificial buffet for them? The answer is simple. That “buffet” may lead to fewer mosquitoes. Stephen Dobson, a University of Kentucky professor of medical and veterinary entomology in the Department of Entomology, part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, believes his mosquito food can do just that. Others believe there’s promise too.

Rickettsia felis fever: a culprit found

Scimex: French and Senegalese researchers have found the culprit responsible for  a spree of an 'unknown origin fever' - a bacterium, Rickettsia felis, which appears to be transmitted by mosquitoes. That's surprising because mosquitoes are not known for transmitting bacterial infections, and this bug is generally transmitted by fleas - including in Australia. But these fever outbreaks have occurred in known malarial areas in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting mozzies are the guilty party.

A mosquito sex-determining gene could help fight dengue fever, life science researchers say

VirginiaTech: Males aren’t relevant — at least when it comes to disease transmission by mosquitoes. Researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech have identified a gene responsible for sex determination in mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever, dengue, and chikungunya viruses. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need blood for developing eggs, and researchers believe that a higher ratio of males could reduce disease transmission. In a study published Thursday in Science Express, the scientists identify a male-determining genetic switch called Nix in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that underlies the difference between males and females. These master switches often reside in genomic black holes, which is why none had been found in mosquitoes or other insects before.

Twins experiment reveals genetic link with mosquito bites

London: The likelihood of being bitten by mosquitoes could be down to our genes, according to a study carried out on twins. Research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has found, for the first time, an underlying genetic component to how attractive we are to mosquitoes and this is likely to be caused by genetic control of our body odour. The findings are published in PLOS ONE and build on previous research where it was shown that attractiveness to insects is based on differences in body odour. People who are less attractive to mosquitoes produce natural repellents. It seems that this trait is genetically controlled.

Why mosquitos zone in on some people, but not others

The Conversation: Everyone who has ever been camping or walking in the wild with friends can’t have failed to notice how insects seem to prefer some people’s flesh to others. Some unlucky souls are totally covered in itchy red blotches and others are miraculously spared. Sometimes only some family members are affected. My mother has never been bitten by a mosquito (though fleas like her) while my brother and I are often the targets. Previous observations have shown a higher mosquito preference for larger people (who produce more CO₂), beer drinkers and pregnant women, and although diet was often suspected as a factor, nothing in what we eat (even garlic) stood up to scrutiny.

Dengue: bacteria vs mosquitoes

Melbourne: Researchers at the University of Melbourne along with international collaborators are using a novel way to block the dengue virus in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes using the insect bacterium Wolbachia and have for the first time provided projections of its public health benefit. Dengue is a viral infection spread between humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Dengue causes flu-like symptoms, including intense headaches and joint pains.

Why mosquitoes seem to bite some people more

Sidney University. Australia: There's always one in a crowd, a sort of harbinger of the oncoming mosquito onslaught: a person mosquitoes seem to target more than others. What is it about these unlucky chosen few that makes them mosquito magnets? There are hundreds of mosquito species and they all have slightly different preferences when it comes to what or who they bite. But only females bite; they need a nutritional hit to develop eggs.

Shared symptoms of Chikungunya virus, rheumatoid arthritis may cloud diagnosis

Washington University. US: A mosquito-borne virus that has spread to the Caribbean and Central and South America and has caused isolated infections in Florida often causes joint pain and swelling similar to that seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

How Malaria-Spreading Mosquitoes Can Tell You’re Home

UC Riverside (US) research shows house-dwelling mosquitoes require minute changes in concentrations of exhaled carbon dioxide to trigger landing on human skin.

Scientists Identify Important Mechanism Involved in Production of Mosquito Eggs

UC Riverside (US) research on mosquitoes could lead to innovative strategies for controlling mosquito populations. Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes have contributed to the death and suffering of millions throughout human history, earning the mosquito the title as the world’s most dangerous animal.