Mosquitoes

A female mosquito antenna with olfactory neurons, labeled red and green. Olfactory neurons that express multiple types of smell receptors are in yellow. Credit: Margaret HerreBetween a variety of mosquito-borne diseases, most notably malaria, nearly one million deaths each year can be traced back to simple mosquito bites. Therefore, curbing the deadly attraction between mosquitoes and humans is a significant public health priority. Unfortunately, attempts to do so by interfering with how mosquitoes pick up our scent have…

Delhi's surge of Culex mosquitoes comes at a time when public health officials are declaring notable victories against other kinds of mosquitoes, including the Anopheles genus that transmits malaria. While those gains have saved lives, the situation, mosquito experts say, is complicated: The very changes that have reduced Anopheles’ numbers may be allowing other species to thrive. And amid a changing climate, mosquitoes have found new niches to exploit, especially in urban areas.Over the past few decades, malaria’s global…

Scientists have managed to turn one of the deadliest insects into a vaccine delivery system. According to new reports from NPR, a clinical trial for a system meant to use mosquitoes to deliver vaccines has been underway in the United Kingdom. The findings of the trial have been published in Science Translational Medicine. According to the paper, scientists were able to genetically modify parasites to deliver malaria vaccines through mosquito bites. It’s an intriguing proposition to use mosquitos to deliver…

When it comes to keeping mosquitoes from spreading malaria, some proposed approaches involve killing the insects, or stopping them from acquiring malaria parasites. A new method, however, stunts the growth of the parasites once they're in the mosquito's gut.Ordinarily, malaria is spread when a female mosquito bites someone who is already infected with the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasite. That parasite is carried with the sucked-up blood into the insect's gut, where it enters its next stage of development. Once it…

The relentless accuracy with which some mosquito species hunt down humans may result from their bizarrely wired olfactory system, which has an in-built backup for detecting human scents.Mosquitoes can sense CO2 or sweat wafting off humans using unique chemoreceptors in their antennae and the maxillary palp, a jointed sensory appendage of insects.A new study led by researchers at Boston University and Rockefeller University explains why mosquitoes are so good at sensing us, even when researchers genetically disable…

According to new research, Zika and dengue infection makes humans and mice secrete a chemical that may make them more attractive to mosquitoes.Dengue and Zika viruses make infected hosts smell more delicious to mosquitoes.New research shows that when humans and mice are infected with dengue or Zika viruses, they secrete a chemical that may make them more attractive to mosquitoes, the vector that transmits the virus. Almost half of the world’s population lives in an area at risk of dengue fever, and with a lack of…

Mosquitoes are the world's deadliest animal. Over 1 million deaths per year are attributed to mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, Zika, and chikungunya fever.  How mosquitoes seek out and feed on their hosts are important factors in how a virus circulates in nature. Mosquitoes spread diseases by acting as carriers of viruses and other pathogens: A mosquito that bites a person infected with a virus can acquire the virus and pass it on to the next person it bites.For immunologists and…

A new study has discovered the reason mosquitoes are drawn to some people more than others. Some viruses can cause an infected person to smell “tastier” to a mosquito, according to researchers. Zika and dengue fever are viruses that infect humans and are spread through mosquito bites. The researchers discovered that these viruses manipulate the hosts' skin microbiome which creates a molecule that attracts the insects. As more mosquitoes are likely to bite the infected person, the chances of transmission of the virus also…

According to new research, Zika and dengue fever viruses make infected mice and humans smell more attractive to mosquitoes, causing increased spread of disease.Dengue and Zika viruses alter the microbiome in both humans and mice to attract mosquitoes and spread to new hosts.Zika and dengue fever viruses modify the scent of mice and humans they infect, scientists reveal in today’s (June 30) issue of the journal Cell. The altered scent attracts mosquitoes, which bite the host, drink their infected blood, and then spread the…

The viruses that cause Zika and dengue fever can’t get from person to person on their own—they need to hitchhike inside a mosquito. A new study suggests how they hail these rides: They make their victims smell more attractive to the blood-sucking bugs. It’s "a big advance," says mosquito neuroscientist Laura Duvall of Columbia University, who wasn't connected to the research. The work shows that "infection with these mosquito-borne viruses can alter the way some people smell … to…