mosquito

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WHO: Zika Is an International Emergency

World Health Organization calls mosquito-borne virus 'extraordinary event'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization announced Monday that the explosive spread of the Zika virus in the Americas is an "extraordinary event" that merits being declared an international emergency, the AP reports. The agency convened a closed-door emergency meeting of independent experts Monday to assess the outbreak after noting a...

Brazil to Women: Don't Get Pregnant Right Now

Amid fears mosquito-borne virus is causing spike in infant neurological condition

(Newser) - In what Brazil's Health Ministry is calling an "unprecedented situation," six states have declared a state of emergency and health officials are warning women not to get pregnant (especially in the country's northeast) due to a mosquito-carried virus linked to brain damage in infants , CNN reports....

This Virus May Be Causing Birth Defects

Mosquito-borne Zika illness is heading north

(Newser) - It’s no secret: Mosquitoes are out to get you. More than a million people worldwide die from mosquito-borne maladies annually, according to the American Mosquito Control Association . And now those bloodsuckers have a new weapon in their arsenal: the heretofore rare Zika virus that is sweeping north in South...

Scientists Create Malaria-Proof Mosquitoes

Edited genes spread to 99.5% of offspring in study

(Newser) - Scientists have yet to figure out how to get rid of mosquitoes for good (yes, there are people working on that), but they've done something almost as good: They've developed a genetically modified mosquito that's resistant to malaria. They're only flying around a lab for now,...

Study: Mosquitoes Hate Victoria's Secret Perfume

The fragrance was found to repel mosquitoes for around 2 hours

(Newser) - Camping trip in your near future? Maybe skip the bug spray and prepare like you're hitting the club instead. Popular Science reports that a new study out of New Mexico State University found two fragrances—including Victoria's Secret Bombshell perfume—work fairly well at repelling two common types...

Dengue Fever Outbreak Hits Hawaii

10 cases reported so far

(Newser) - Bad news for anyone planning to escape the cold weather in Hawaii: The Big Island has seen 10 confirmed cases of dengue fever recently, West Hawaii Today reports. Both residents and visitors have been afflicted, with symptoms coming on any time from mid-September through last week. Dengue fever is not...

Warming Arctic Is Big Trouble for Caribou in Unexpected Way

Mosquitoes are swarming earlier than ever, and they can kill calves

(Newser) - Global warming in the Arctic means earlier and more plentiful mosquitoes in Greenland, and that's bad news for the country's already shrinking caribou population, Alaska Dispatch News reports. A new study found that for every degree Celsius the temperature rises in Greenland, mosquitoes take 10% less time to...

In Russia, Women Compete to Be Bitten by Mosquitoes

They grin and bear it for 20 minutes

(Newser) - Mosquitoes: the scourge of every corner of the Earth except for Berezniki, Russia. That town is gearing up for its three-day Russian Mosquito Festival, which begins on Friday. The BBC picked up an Interfax report on the event, which was founded in 2013 as a bit of a "joke"...

Hate Mosquitoes? Avoid These 5 Cities

Folks in the Southeast are the worst off

(Newser) - Just how bad will the mosquitoes get you this year? Based on the number of customers it serviced last year, pest control company Orkin has put out its list of the 20 worst US cities , and, well—sorry, Atlanta, but you're No. 1. The Southeast is particularly hard-hit, with...

Best Bug Sprays Don&#39;t Have DEET: Consumer Reports
Best Bug Sprays Don't Have DEET: Consumer Reports
in case you missed it
May 16, 2015 11:55 AM CDT

Best Bug Sprays Don't Have DEET: Consumer Reports

Instead, look for picaridin, lemon eucalyptus oil on label

(Newser) - Consumer Reports is sharing some happy news just in time for black fly season: For the first time since testing began, safer insect repellants are also the most effective. In a series of tests, the magazine found new products containing chemically synthesized compounds similar to or derived from natural...

Study: Why Mosquitoes Like You More

Study suggests our genes control scents that attract or repel mosquitoes

(Newser) - Mosquito bites aren't just annoying. They can be lethal, especially in certain parts of the world where they spread malaria and Chikungunya. Now a pilot study out of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suggests that our genes dictate whether mosquitoes are attracted to us, researchers report...

Next in GMO: Mosquitoes?
 Next in GMO: Mosquitoes? 
Jan 25, 2015 1:03 PM CST

Next in GMO: Mosquitoes?

FDA is reviewing whether to unleash them in Florida Keys

(Newser) - No word on whether "annoying buzzing" can be genetically eliminated, but the FDA is looking at whether it will allow genetically modified mosquitoes to be unleashed in the Florida Keys, in the name of stopping the spread of Dengue and chikungunya viruses. As the AP reports, British researchers have...

Malaria Nets Can't Stop New 'Super Mosquito'

Insects created by interbreeding 2 Mali species survive exposure

(Newser) - For years, campaigns such as Nothing But Nets have been trying to control the scourge of malaria —a blood disease spread by mosquito bites—by sending insecticide-laced nets to hard-hit regions (mostly in Africa). But a University of California-Davis study has some bad news: Researchers have discovered a hybrid...

Lindsay Lohan Contracts Chikungunya

Virus spread by mosquitoes can cause joint pain for months

(Newser) - Not all is well in paradise. Lindsay Lohan has, according to her Twitter and Instagram accounts, contracted the Chikungunya virus, which is spread by mosquitoes and can cause joint pain, swelling, fever, and rash, reports USA Today . On Monday, Lohan, 28, posted her latest update: "Being sick is no...

Pantyhose Help Reveal Why Mosquitoes Prefer Humans
Pantyhose Help Reveal Why Mosquitoes Prefer Humans
new study
Nov 13, 2014 1:18 PM CST

Pantyhose Help Reveal Why Mosquitoes Prefer Humans

Researchers use stockings to zero in on a human-only body odor

(Newser) - Thousands of years ago some mosquitoes made "a really good evolutionary move": They developed a taste for humans. A new study digs into the genes that led to this evolutionary shift, which had many mosquitoes give up on furry forest animals—and it relied on guinea pigs and pantyhose...

Meet the Parasites That Suck Mosquitoes' Blood

Culicoid midges can hang onto hosts for days

(Newser) - Next time you're annoyed by a tenacious mosquito, you can take solace in the fact that it, too, has to deal with parasites who want to suck its blood. And, as Jennifer Frazer points out in Scientific American , the mosquito has no way of slapping the tiny creature known...

Brazil Unleashes 10K 'Good' Mosquitoes

They're infected with a bacteria that acts as a vaccine against Dengue fever

(Newser) - On the heels of similar efforts in Asia, Brazil is releasing 10,000 mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria in the hopes of halting the spread of dengue fever. Found in 60% of insects, Wolbachia acts like a vaccine against the virus, preventing it from multiplying in the carrier's...

Chikungunya Virus Moves Into US

Florida sees first locally-acquired cases

(Newser) - It's official: Chikungunya has come to the US. In the likely event you haven't heard of it, Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease that causes severe (though only occasionally fatal) fevers, joint pain, and swelling, Health Day explains. There are no treatments for it save rest and painkillers. It'...

Why Do Mosquitoes Really Like Some People?

Certain chemicals help them target us

(Newser) - At your next barbecue, your friend may be slapping mosquitoes left and right, while they just aren't that into you. Don't be insulted: It may have to do with the chemicals in your skin, Jill Richardson explains at Salon . There are 346 chemicals involved in the scent of...

Newspaper Prints Mosquito-Repellant Edition

Dengue fever is serious threat in Sri Lanka

(Newser) - There's serving your audience, and then there's this: As Sri Lanka marked National Dengue Week in April, its Mawbina newspaper put out editions that were mosquito-repellant—and those editions sold out by 10am, marking a whopping 30% spike in circulation, reports IFLScience . The papers featured pull-out ads soaked...

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