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Thursday, October 03, 2002"If we can identify the receptors that mosquitoes use to smell humans, we should be able to design novel repellants and attractants that can substantially reduce the incidence of malaria, West Nile encephalitis, dengue and yellow fevers and other mosquito-born diseases," said project member Laurence J. Zwiebel of Vanderbilt University. Another study assessed which mosquito genes are turned on or off after the mosquito sucks blood from a person. Mosquitoes consume as much as four times their weight in blood-equivalent to a 100-pound woman drinking a 50-gallon drum of water. Among the genes that turn on after that feast are some that help the insect detoxify the potentially deadly iron found in human blood. Scientists want to develop new chemicals that block that process, rendering blood meals fatal to the insects. Other genes apparently help egg cells mature inside the female after a meal of blood, suggesting that a drug able to block those genes might work as an insect contraceptive. posted by Sydney on 10/03/2002 08:26:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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