https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Research led by the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, has developed a gene drive solution for mitigating malaria transmission from mosquitoes. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-mosquito-friendly-gene-malaria-free-future.html Biotechnology Wed, 19 Jul 2023 10:40:01 EDT news608981566 The appendages that protrude from a mosquito's head hold the sensory systems that account for nearly all of its ability to detect and respond to a wide range of chemical signals that are critical for its reproduction and its survival. At the molecular level, these systems rely on genes that make up three families of chemosensory receptors. These genes include gustatory (taste) receptors, ionotropic receptors and odorant receptors that collectively facilitate a wide range of essential behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-discovery-mosquito-survival-tactics-room.html Plants & Animals Wed, 01 Jun 2022 16:36:38 EDT news573320194 New technology employing single cell genome sequencing of the parasite that causes malaria has yielded some surprising results and helps pave the way for possible new intervention strategies for this deadly infectious disease, according to Texas Biomedical Research Institute Assistant Professor Ian Cheeseman, Ph.D. Dr. Cheeseman was Principal Investigator of a three-year study published in the January 2020 edition of Cell Host & Microbe, a high-impact peer-reviewed publication. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-reveals-complex-malaria-infections.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jan 2020 03:47:38 EST news497764053 Researchers at LSTM have identified a completely new mechanism by which mosquitoes that carry malaria are becoming resistant to insecticide. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-mosquitoes-toxins-legs.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 25 Dec 2019 13:00:05 EST news496472098 Scientists have finally found malaria's Achilles' heel, a neurotoxin that isn't harmful to any living thing except Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-deadly-malaria-chemicals.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Jun 2019 02:36:57 EDT news480908211 Scientists, led by Dr Jaroslaw Krzywinski, Head of the Vector Molecular Biology group at The Pirbright Institute have isolated a gene, which determines maleness in the species of mosquito that is responsible for transmitting malaria. The research, published in the journal Science, describes identification and characterisation of a gene, named Yob by the authors, which is the master regulator of the sex determination process in the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, and determines the male sex. https://phys.org/news/2016-06-scientists-maleness-gene-malaria-mosquitoes.html Biotechnology Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:00:08 EDT news386505038 For the first time, malarial mosquitoes have been modified to be infertile and pass on the trait rapidly - raising the possibility of reducing the spread of disease. https://phys.org/news/2015-12-mosquitoes-malaria.html Biotechnology Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:00:08 EST news368706850 Sexual biology may be the key to uncovering why Anopheles mosquitoes are unique in their ability to transmit malaria to humans, according to researchers at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and University of Perugia, Italy. Through analysis of 16 Anopheles genomes, they found that these mosquitoes' reproductive traits evolved along with their capacity to transmit the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. These findings may provide a new target for malaria control, particularly in regions hardest hit by the disease. https://phys.org/news/2015-02-malaria-transmission-linked-mosquitoes-sexual.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 26 Feb 2015 14:00:12 EST news344175702 Nora Besansky, O'Hara Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the University's Eck Institute for Global Health, has led an international team of scientists in sequencing the genomes of 16 Anopheles mosquito species from around the world. https://phys.org/news/2014-11-mosquitoes-malaria-scientists-cousins-grown.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 27 Nov 2014 14:00:06 EST news336315270 Native bacteria living inside mosquitoes prevent the insects from passing Wolbachia bacteria—which can make the mosquitoes resistant to the malaria parasite—to their offspring, according to a team of researchers. https://phys.org/news/2014-08-native-bacteria-block-wolbachia-mosquito.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 11 Aug 2014 15:00:03 EDT news326980964 Researchers have found the first evidence of an intercellular bacterial infection in natural populations of two species of Anopheles mosquitoes, the major vectors of malaria in Africa. The infection, called Wolbachia, has been shown in labs to reduce the incidence of pathogen infections in mosquitoes and has the potential to be used in controlling malaria-transmitting mosquito populations. https://phys.org/news/2014-06-infection-malaria-transmitting-mosquito.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 06 Jun 2014 05:42:16 EDT news321252126 Using advanced methodologies that pit drug compounds against specific types of malaria parasite cells, an international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, have identified a potential new weapon and approach for attacking the parasites that cause malaria. https://phys.org/news/2013-11-enzyme-mosquito-borne-parasite-aim-malaria.html Biotechnology Wed, 27 Nov 2013 13:00:06 EST news304771301 In work published this week in Nature's Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health, led by Associate Professor Giles Duffield and Assistant Professor Zain Syed of the Department of Biological Sciences, revealed that the major malaria vector in Africa, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, is able to smell major human host odorants better at night. https://phys.org/news/2013-08-mosquitoes-night.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 30 Aug 2013 14:56:57 EDT news297093403 Mosquitoes bred to be unable to infect people with the malaria parasite are an attractive approach to helping curb one of the world's most pressing public health issues, according to UC Irvine scientists. https://phys.org/news/2012-06-mosquitoes-incapable-transmitting-malaria.html Biotechnology Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:44:10 EDT news258720237 In a small, narrow, temperature-controlled lab room at Vanderbilt University live some of the most deadly and dangerous animals in the world. https://phys.org/news/2012-02-mosquito-repellant-mosquitoes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:37:17 EST news249651426 A female mosquito cannot tell if the male that she has mated with is fertile or 'spermless' and unable to fertilise her eggs, according to a new study from scientists at Imperial College London. https://phys.org/news/2011-08-mosquitoes-spermless.html Plants & Animals Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:00:11 EDT news232030211 With Memorial Day weekend approaching and temperatures across the nation steadily increase to summertime highs, thoughts turn to picnics, ballgames -- and bug bites. Now, a new way of stopping mosquitoes could come from a precise method to interfere with their ability to hone in on people's blood. https://phys.org/news/2011-05-stinky-feet-pave-ways-mosquitoes.html Other Fri, 27 May 2011 16:36:45 EDT news225732976 The development and first use of a high-density SNP array for the malaria vector mosquito have established 400,000 genetic markers capable of revealing new insights into how the insect adapts to outsmart insecticides and other preventive measures, according to findings published in the current edition of the journal Science. The SNP array's snapshot of the Anopheles gambiae genome can be used by scientists worldwide to advance public health efforts to contain and eliminate the deadly disease, according to Boston College biologist and senior author Marc A.T. Muskavitch. https://phys.org/news/2010-10-genetic-markers-clues-malaria-mosquitoes.html Plants & Animals Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:15:40 EDT news207231304 Yale University researchers have found more than two dozen scent receptors in malaria-transmitting mosquitoes that detect compounds in human sweat, a finding that may help scientists to develop new ways to combat a disease that kills 1 million people annually. https://phys.org/news/2010-02-bad-news-mosquitoes-repellents.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:00:03 EST news184423685 Researchers have new insight into the sex lives of the much-maligned mosquitoes that are responsible for the vast majority of malaria deaths, according to a report published online on December 31st in Current Biology. In finding a partner of the right species type, male and female mosquitoes depend on their ability to "sing" in perfect harmony. Those tones are produced and varied based on the frequency of their wing beats in flight. https://phys.org/news/2010-01-mosquito-matchmaking-harmony.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:12:38 EST news181466270 (PhysOrg.com) -- Stopping male mosquitoes from sealing their sperm inside females with a 'mating plug' could prevent mosquitoes from reproducing, and offer a potential new way to combat malaria, say scientists publishing new results in PLoS Biology on 22 December. https://phys.org/news/2009-12-mosquitoes-sex-malaria.html Plants & Animals Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:08:08 EST news180684435