Mosquito

A new technology developed at Imperial College London could give one of our most promising malaria vaccine candidates a huge boost, by streamlining the development process through the use of what are described as "mosquito smoothies."

There are already places where homes are built on stilts, to avoid seasonal floods. A new study, however, suggests that doing so may also significantly reduce the risk of being bitten by malaria-carrying mosquitos.

New findings are indicating a commonly used herbicide appears to weaken the immune systems of insects. One mosquito experiment suggests the chemical can amplify insect susceptibility to parasitic infection, possibly increasing malaria transmission.

Researchers have developed a new vaccine candidate for dengue virus, a notoriously tricky pathogen to deal with. The new candidate has a number of advantages over existing treatments, with tests on mice using microneedle patches proving promising.

Thermacell LPG- and battery-powered repellers offer one of the more convenient ways to keep mosquitos off your skin, without open flames, sprays or pungent odors. Now Thermacell launches its latest repeller with increased range.

Genetic engineering has been proposed as a way to deal with the deadly mosquito, and a new project by Texas A&M AgriLife Research is looking to enable risk-free "test runs" of such genetic changes that are automatically deleted after a period of time.

DEET may be an effective mosquito repellent, but it can cause irritation, and has to be reapplied every few hours. Scientists are now working on a more innocuous, longer-laster alternative, that involves introducing genetically engineered bacteria onto the skin.

If you're trying to eradicate disease-carrying mosquitos, it's important to know when and where the biting females of the targeted species are present. An experimental new device could help, by mimicking the insects' hearing apparatus.

VEEV is a mosquito-borne virus that, in the worst case scenario, can infect the brain and become deadly. Now scientists have discovered the protein it latches onto – and used it to create a decoy molecule that draws the virus away from the brain.

A type of volcanic glass, perlite is frequently used as building insulation or a potting soil additive. According to a new study, though, it also works quite well at killing malaria-causing mosquitos.

Several years ago, we heard how scientists were looking at eradicating malaria-carrying mosquitoes by making the females infertile. Now they're going a step further, by eliminating the females altogether.

Researchers have taken inspiration from a mosquito's ability to fly and land in the dark to develop a new collision-avoidance sensory system for drones that mimics the insect's ability to use airflow to detect obstacles.