DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Mosquitoes are driving the ‘akikiki’ to extinction. With only 5 birds left in the wild, scientists are racing to save the species
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

This summer, the team successfully rescued 10 eggs that were placed in a portable incubator and brought safely back to the Kauaʻi Bird Conservation Center. The goal is that as soon as the threat of avian malaria is eradicated, the birds can be released back into their native habitat. Eradicating mosquitoesThe looming challenge is how to eradicate avian malaria – which not only threatens the ‘akikiki but also other endangered forest birds. In June, the US government committed nearly $16 million as part of an initiative to prevent the imminent extinction of Hawaiian forest birds. The process could help to reduce the likelihood of forest birds being affected by avian malaria, which is only carried by female mosquitoes.

Persons: ”, Hannah Bailey, Bailey, we’ll, “ Organizations: CNN, state’s Department of Land, Resources, Conservation Program, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Department of Land, Bird Conservation, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Hawaii’s Department of Land Locations: Hawaii, Kauaʻi, Maui, San

☆ Unleashing a New Weapon on the Mosquito: A Mosquito
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Stephanie Nolen | Eleanor Lutz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Anggy Aldana working at the World Mosquito Program lab in Medellín, Colombia. Researchers found, after painstaking trial and error, that they could insert the bacteria into mosquito eggs using minute needles. How mosquito eggs are injected with Wolbachia A looping video showing a thin needle injecting fluid into a row of black mosquito eggs. How Wolbachia spreads among wild mosquitoes A series of three illustrations showing the outcomes of breeding between wild mosquitoes and mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia. Mosquito eggs and a tray of chilled mosquitoes at the World Mosquito Program lab.

Persons: Eleanor Lutz, Wolbachia, Scott O’Neill, —, O’Neill’s, Steven Sinkins, Marlon Victoria, ”, Victoria, “, O’Neill, It’s, Laura Harrington, They’re, won’t, ” Mr Organizations: Mosquito Program, Mosquito, Brazil —, FRANCE Croatia United, ARGENTINA CHILE Americas, CHILE Americas, University of Glasgow, —, Medellín Health, Colombian, Cornell University Locations: Medellín, Colombia, Cali, Honduras, Australia, Australian, Vietnam, Indonesia, France, Florida and Texas, Brazil, Americas, African, Asia, Europe, FRANCE Croatia United States PORTUGAL JAPAN CHINA Texas PAKISTAN Florida EGYPT INDIA MALI MEXICO PHILIPPINES SUDAN ETHIOPIA Colombia SOMALIA INDONESIA BRAZIL ANGOLA PERU NAMIBIA AUSTRALIA, AFRICA Africa, Oceania, ARGENTINA CHILE, FRANCE Croatia United States PORTUGAL JAPAN CHINA Texas Florida EGYPT, MEXICO MALI PHILIPPINES SUDAN Colombia SOMALIA INDONESIA BRAZIL ANGOLA PERU NAMIBIA AUSTRALIA ARGENTINA Africa, CHILE, Africa, United States, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wolbachia, Siloé, West Africa, Medellin

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — For decades, preventing dengue fever in Honduras has meant teaching people to fear mosquitoes and avoid their bites. Enriquez, a 52-year-old mason, had volunteered to help publicize a plan to suppress dengue by releasing millions of special mosquitoes in the Honduran capital. The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that most commonly spread dengue have been resistant to insecticides, which have fleeting results even in the best-case scenario. SCIENTISTS SURPRISED BY BACTERIAThe Wolbachia strategy has been decades in the making. But along the way, O’Neill’s team made a surprising discovery: Mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia didn’t spread dengue — or other related diseases, including yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya.

Persons: they’ve, Hector Enriquez, Enriquez, ”, Scott O’Neill, Conor McMeniman, McMeniman, haven’t, Raman Velayudhan, Velayudhan, O’Neill, Oliver Brady, ” Brady, Bobby Reiner, “ It’s, ” Reiner, Edgard Boquín, Marlene Salazar, María Fernanda Marín, Lourdes Betancourt, Betancourt –, ” Betancourt, “, ___ Burakoff, Marko Álvarez, — Organizations: Mosquito Program, World Health Organization, Johns Hopkins University, WHO, London School of Hygiene, Mosquito, University of Washington, Workers, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduran, El, Australia, ”, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Fiji, Vietnam, Indonesia, COLOMBIA, Medellín, HONDURAS, Medellin, Northern Tegucigalpa, New York City

☆ Mosquitoes are annoying and some are deadly. Here’s why we can’t – and shouldn’t – simply kill them all
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ritu Prasad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Some mosquitoes are actually helpfulThe first problem to tackle here is the word “all.” There are more than 3,000 recognized mosquito species worldwide. Healy, who is also president of the American Mosquito Control Association, offered Louisiana, which is home to many swamps where mosquitoes thrive, as an example. “Disease-transmitting mosquito species, such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are invasive species in many parts of the world. As for the Anopheles mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, things are a little different. … We are constantly educating mosquito control workers to follow these practices.

Persons: birdsong, We’ve, ”, Kristen Healy, Healy, we’d, Laura Harrington, Culex, Aedes, ” John Marshall, ” Marshall, ” Healy, Soumyabrata Roy, NurPhoto, it’s, Harrington, Wolbachia, ” Harrington, Stefan Sauer, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, Entomology, Louisiana State University, American Mosquito Control Association, Cornell University, University of California, Getty Locations: –, West Nile, Louisiana, West, Berkeley

☆ The US eliminated malaria in 1951. How can it keep it under control now?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Meg Tirrell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“The risk is very low,” Dr. Peter McElroy, chief of the malaria branch in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, told CNN. In an effort to limit its impact in the southeastern US during World War II, particularly around military training bases, the US created the Office of Malaria Control in War Areas in 1942. The April 1945 edition of the Malaria Control in War Areas field bulletin. Malaria was eliminated in the United States in 1951, but modern mosquito control is mostly managed locally. Oxitec also says it’s working on applying the approach to anopheles mosquitoes for malaria control as well.

Persons: ”, Janneth Rodrigues, Rodrigues, tsuruhatensis, National Institutes of Health’s Dr, Carolina, Dr, Peter McElroy ,, haven’t, McElroy, Wade Brennan, Chandan Khanna, “, ” McElroy, Daniel Markowski, ” Markowski, They’re, Markowski, Mury, Sanjay Gupta, Aedes, Oxitec, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, GSK, Malaria, National Institutes of Health’s, of Malaria, Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention’s, Sarasota County Mosquito Management, of Malaria Control, CDC, American Mosquito Control Association, Public Health Service, National Library of Medicine, Getty, “, CNN Health, Google Locations: Tres Cantos, Madrid, Burkina Faso, Africa, United States, Sarasota, Sarasota , Florida, Atlanta, Sarasota County , Florida, Palm Beach County , Florida, Florida, New Jersey

☆ The mosquito era: As the world warms, these insects are thriving – and bringing disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

James Gathany/CDC/Handout/ReutersWhile serious mosquito-borne diseases remain rare in the US, other countries are not so lucky. While scientists are yet to assess the role climate change has played in the outbreak, Carlson said the links seem clear. But the shift of mosquito-borne diseases into regions like the US and Europe is still likely to be a shock. Scientists are working to develop tools to be able to better assess the link between mosquito-borne diseases and climate change. The path the world takes on reducing planet-heating pollution will lead to very different futures for mosquito-borne diseases, Brady said.

Persons: it’s, Edgar Su, ”, Oliver Brady, –, James Gathany, Colin Carlson, Carlson, I’m, Ernesto Benavides, Celine Gossner, ” Brady, “, Shannon LaDeau, they’ve, ” LaDeau, Jon Cherry, Gossner, Brady Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, London School of Hygiene, Medicine, Climate Central, Georgetown University, Getty, European Centre for Disease Prevention, Carey Institute of Ecosystems Studies, Louisville Metro Department of Health, Wellness Locations: United States, Singapore, zika, West, Saharan Africa, Peru, Piura, AFP, Europe, “, Western Europe, China, Texas , Florida, Hawaii, Arizona, India, Louisville , Kentucky, Florida

☆ O bacterie "miraculoasă" introdusă în țânțari a micşorat cazurile de febră Dengue cu 77%
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-10 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +3 min

Oamenii de știință au folosit țânțari infectați cu o bacterie "miraculoasă", care reduce capacitatea insectei de a răspândi virusul. Febra Dengue nu era o boală cunoscută acum 50 de ani, însă s-a transformat într-o pandemie lentă și numărul cazurilor a crescut puternic. Wolbachia nu rănește țântarul, însă bacteria este găzduită de insectă în aceeași parte a corpului pe unde intră virusul care provoacă febra Dengue. Orașul indonezian Yogyakarta City a fost împărțit în 24 de zone, iar țânțarii au fost eliberați în doar jumătate dintre acestea. Doctorul Yudiria Amelia, coordonatorul programului de prevenenire a bolilor din Yogyakarta City, s-a declarat încâtată de rezultat.

Persons: Katie Anders, Anders, Bacteria, Doctorul Yudiria Amelia, David Hamer Organizations: BBC, Universitatea din Locations: Yogyakarta City, Indonezia, City, New England, Universitatea din Boston

Search resuls for: "Wolbachia"

7 mentions found