Disease vectors are living organisms, typically arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, sandflies, and triatomine bugs, that biologically or mechanically transmit pathogenic agents between hosts, thereby enabling the spread of infectious diseases within populations and ecosystems. In vector-borne disease systems, pathogens often undergo essential developmental or replication stages within the vector (biological transmission), or are passively carried on contaminated body parts (mechanical transmission). Research on disease vectors encompasses their ecology, population dynamics, host-feeding behavior, vector competence, insecticide resistance, and interactions with environmental and climatic factors, informing surveillance, risk modeling, and integrated vector management strategies for disease control.
Evolutionary biologists have long believed that the human-biting mosquito, Culex pipiens form molestus, evolved from the bird-biting form, Culex pipiens form pipiens, in subways and cellars in northern Europe over the past ...
Evolution
Oct 23, 2025
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Mosquitoes aren't just a nuisance; they can carry diseases like West Nile virus, which can be transmitted to humans—and research shows their populations are on the rise in the U.S. despite city- and county-level efforts to ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 22, 2025
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West Nile Virus was once a nominal concern for Utahns but since August 2003, when it was first detected in the Beehive State, infections in Utah residents have steadily risen.
Ecology
Oct 20, 2025
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Scientists at La Trobe University have discovered a previously unknown way viruses could spread around the body, potentially paving the way for more effective drug development. The research, published in Nature Communications, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 16, 2025
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Let's face it—bats get a bad rap. Their links to disease outbreaks and their spooky association with vampires influence their notoriety. In reality, bats are truly remarkable. Bats support our agricultural industries as vital ...
Ecology
Oct 13, 2025
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A study in Medical and Veterinary Entomology has investigated whether Culicoides biting midges—tiny insects that can carry serious livestock viruses—are being accidentally exported from Africa to Europe in shipments of cut ...
Veterinary medicine
Oct 8, 2025
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Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are vectors of multiple diseases including dengue, chikungunya and Zika, posing a public health risk to populations within their native range.
Plants & Animals
Oct 1, 2025
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Scientists at Virginia Tech may have just made it easier to fight the world's deadliest animal: the mosquito. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need nutrients from blood to develop eggs. That drive makes them dangerous, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2025
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New research is shining a light on one of genetics' enduring puzzles—how the workings of the so-called "selfish gene" could be harnessed to control harmful insect populations. By understanding the molecular basis of a selfish ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 18, 2025
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72
New research into the genetics of Anopheles funestus (An. funestus), one of the most neglected but prolific malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Africa, has revealed how this species is evolving in response to malaria control ...
Evolution
Sep 18, 2025
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