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Mosquitoes Might Be Humanity’s Greatest Foe

August 21, 2019

Should we get rid of them? The pesky insect is the deadliest animal in human history

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Mosquitoes Might Be Humanity’s Greatest Foe

Wednesday, August 21st, 2019

By Hope Reese

The deadliest killer in human history might not be guns or bombs, cancer or car accidents. It’s a pesky insect that most of us don’t think twice about: the mosquito.

Over the course of 200,000 years, 108 billion people have lived on Earth. And nearly half, 52 billion, have been killed by mosquitoes. The impact of this disastrous insect has shaped civilization far beyond our expectations, according to historian Timothy C. Winegard, whose new book, The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator, explores this lethal insect.

…

I talked to Winegard, who currently teaches history and political science at Colorado Mesa University, about what makes mosquitoes “masters of evolutionary adaptation,” if they should be eradicated, and what kind of function — if any — they serve. I also asked him the age-old question of how to avoid mosquito bites (the key, he says, has to do with our feet).

Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

… Continue reading ‘Mosquitoes Might Be Humanity’s Greatest Foe’

Image via article: Javier Zarracina / Vox

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Vox

The Mosquitoes Are Coming for Us

July 29, 2019

They are our apex predator, the deadliest hunters of human beings on the planet

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The Mosquitoes Are Coming for Us

Monday, July 29th, 2019

Opinion

By Timothy C. Winegard

It has been one of the most aggravating sounds on earth for more than 100 million years — the humming buzz of a mosquito.

She gently lands on your ankle and inserts two serrated mandible cutting blades and saws into your skin, while two other retractors open a passage for the proboscis. With this straw she sucks your blood, while a sixth needle pumps in saliva that contains an anticoagulant that prevents that blood from clotting. This shortens her feeding time, lessening the likelihood that you splat her across your ankle.

The female mosquito needs your blood to grow her eggs. Please don’t feel singled out. She bites everyone. There is no truth to the myths that mosquitoes prefer women over men or blondes and redheads over those with darker hair. She does, however, play favorites. Type O blood seems to be the vintage of choice. Stinky feet emit a bacterium that woos famished females, as do perfumes. As a parting gift, she leaves behind an itchy bump (an allergic reaction to her saliva) and potentially something far worse: infection with one of several deadly diseases, including malaria, Zika, West Nile, dengue and yellow fever.

…continue reading ‘The Mosquitoes Are Coming for Us’

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The New York Times

Scientists Find New Way to Kill Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes

July 18, 2019

Scientists say they nearly eliminated disease-carrying mosquitoes on two islands in China using a new technique. The downside: It may not be practical for larger areas and may cost a lot of money

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Scientists Find New Way to Kill Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes

Thursday, July 18th, 2019

NEW YORK — Scientists say they nearly eliminated disease-carrying mosquitoes on two islands in China using a new technique. The downside: It may not be practical for larger areas and may cost a lot of money.

In the experiment, researchers targeted Asian tiger mosquitoes, invasive white-striped bugs that can spread dengue fever, Zika, and other diseases. They used a novel approach for pest control: First, they infected the bugs with a virus-fighting bacterium, and then zapped them with a small dose of radiation.

Zapping is meant to sterilize the mosquitoes. And releasing mosquitoes infected with a bacterial strain not found in wild mosquitoes would stop them from reproducing. Mosquitoes need to have the same type to make young that will survive.

…continue reading ‘Scientists Find New Way to Kill Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes’

Thumb image via STAT – GUANGZHOU WOLBAKI BIOTECH VIA AP

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STAT

Using Genetics to Try and Figure Out How to Get Mosquitoes to Stop Biting Us

March 29, 2019

Among all the beasts in the animal kingdom, perhaps none is more dangerous to humans than the mosquito. The whiny insects aren’t just irritating — they can be deadly

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Using Genetics to Try and Figure Out How to Get Mosquitoes to Stop Biting Us

Friday, March 29th, 2019

In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reckons that mosquitoes are responsible for at least 700,000 deaths worldwide each year, thanks to their ability to transmit diseases such as malaria and yellow fever with a single bite.

That makes the bugs 50,000 times more deadly to humans than sharks, according to the CDC.

To thwart these tiny flying assassins, researchers have developed a range of strategies including insecticides, sterilization programs and repellents like Deet. Now, scientists think mosquito genetics will help them add a new weapon to that arsenal.

…continue reading ‘Using Genetics to Try and Figure Out How to Get Mosquitoes to Stop Biting Us’

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LA Times

How Climate Change Will Put Billions More At Risk of Mosquito-Borne Diseases

March 29, 2019

Climate change doesn’t just shift weather patterns. It can force the migration of plants, people, animals, bugs — and disease

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How Climate Change Will Put Billions More At Risk of Mosquito-Borne Diseases

Friday, March 29th, 2019

By the end of this century almost all of the world’s population could be exposed to mosquito-borne diseases once limited to the tropics, according to a new study from PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are two species of mosquitoes known to carry and transmit potentially deadly viruses like dengue, chikungunya, Zikaand yellow fever. These bugs can thrive in urban environments, often traveling alongside humans as we ship goods and travel around the world.

And, according to the study, these tropical mosquitoes are poised to expand their ranges, exposing a billion additional people to the diseases they carry in the next 50 years.

…continue reading ‘How Climate Change Will Put Billions More At Risk of Mosquito-Borne Diseases’

Image: By JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8496866

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PBS News Hour

Using Gene Drives to Control Wild Mosquito Populations and Wipe Out Malaria

December 21, 2018

What is the deadliest animal on earth? It’s a question that brings to mind fearsome lions, tigers, sharks and crocodiles. But the answer is an animal that is no more than 1 centimeter long

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Using Gene Drives to Control Wild Mosquito Populations and Wipe Out Malaria

Friday, December 21st, 2018

A few mosquito species, out of the thousands that populate different environments, are the deadliest animals on earth. Anopheles mosquitoes alone, transmit malaria through their bite and annually infect more than 200 million people, and are responsible for 400,000 deaths per year, of which 70 percent are children under the age of 5.

Other mosquito species also transmit diseases – dengue, West Nile and Zika – through their bite.

We are geneticists at Imperial College in London who focus on the mosquito and its role as a vector of disease. For more than 20 years, we’ve been focusing on the development of genetically manipulated mosquitoes. That is because decades of malaria control has taught us that the most effective strategy to prevent malaria is to control the mosquito itself. Years of research has led to the development of the ultimate and sophisticated genetic tool called “gene drive.” When correctly engineered, it can eliminate mosquito populations housed in cages in the lab.

…continue reading ‘Using Gene Drives to Control Wild Mosquito Populations and Wipe Out Malaria’

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The Conversation

UN Treaty Agrees to Limit Gene Drives But Rejects a Moratorium

November 30, 2018

Treaty’s vague language on how researchers can release engineered organisms has both opponents and supporters of the technology claiming victory

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UN Treaty Agrees to Limit Gene Drives But Rejects a Moratorium

Friday, November 30th, 2018

Nations rejected a proposal to temporarily ban the release of organisms carrying gene drives — a genetic-engineering technology designed to spread mutations rapidly through a target population — on 29 November at a meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Dozens of scientists opposed the moratorium proposal, although numerous environmental and activist groups supported it.

A gene-drive moratorium was never likely to succeed in the face of opposition from biotechnology-friendly countries, because changes to the CBD must be accomplished by reaching consensus among the convention’s almost 200 parties.

…continue reading ‘UN Treaty Agrees to Limit Gene Drives But Rejects a Moratorium’

Image: By Tjeerd Wiersma from Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=351448

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Nature News

Ban on ‘Gene Drives’ Is Back on the UN’s Agenda – Worrying Scientists

November 15, 2018

Research is moving fast on the divisive genetic technology, which could help to eradicate diseases but also risks altering ecosystems in unpredictable ways

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Ban on ‘Gene Drives’ Is Back on the UN’s Agenda – Worrying Scientists

Thursday, November 15th, 2018

Government representatives from nearly 170 countries will this month consider whether to temporarily ban the release of organisms carrying gene drives — a controversial technology that can quickly propagate a chosen gene throughout a population. The technique has the potential to eradicate disease, control pests and alter entire ecosystems, but with unpredictable consequences — leading some groups to call for a global moratorium on its field applications.

Chances are slim of a moratorium being approved at the upcoming meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which begins on 17 November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. That’s because such a decision must be agreed by consensus, and biotechnology-friendly countries are unlikely to agree to such restrictions.

Even so, some scientists worry that the discussions could set the tone for future limits on the use of the technology.

…continue reading ‘Ban on ‘gene drives’ is back on the UN’s agenda — worrying scientists’

Image via Flickr License Some rights reserved by Sanofi Pasteur