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In continuing to explore the crystal structure of insecticides, the research team began studying fluorinated forms of DDT, swapping out chlorine atoms for fluorine. They prepared two solid forms of the compound—a monofluoro and a difluoro analog—and tested them on fruit flies and mosquitoes, including mosquito species that carry malaria, yellow fever, Dengue, and Zika. The solid forms of fluorinated DDT killed insects more quickly than did DDT; the difluoro analog, known as DFDT, killed mosquitoes two to four times faster. The researchers also made a detailed analysis of the relative activities of the solid-state forms of fluorinated DDT, noting...

Steak and potatoes, creamed spinach, a stiff drink: the menu at your average steakhouse hasn’t changed for over 100 years. Americans flock to these palaces of meat, whether they’re upscale chains or a neighborhood spot whose décor hasn’t changed since the Reagan administration. Despite some falls in consumption in recent years due to price increases and health concerns, steak is still a very big deal in America. This week we’ll take a look at the steakhouse, an American institution. Our modern steakhouse has two direct ancestors, the beefsteak banquet and the chophouse. Both arose, interestingly enough, in mid-19th century New...

FULL TITLE: BUGGED OUT Deadly ‘super mosquitoes that are even tougher’ accidentally created by scientists after bungled experiment ============================================================ GENETICALLY modified mosquitoes that were designed by scientists to help populations decrease are actually thriving. This is according to new research that claims the plan to create gene-hacked mosquitoes that have offspring which die immediately has spectacularly backfired and now scientists don't know what will happen next. he modified mosquitoes were released in Jacobina in Brazil and were supposed to mix with the local population and decrease numbers with their weak offspring genetics. Although the wild population did plummet for a...

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...

A fungus - genetically enhanced to produce spider toxin - can rapidly kill huge numbers of the mosquitoes that spread malaria, a study suggests. Trials, which took place in Burkina Faso, showed mosquito populations collapsed by 99% within 45 days. Conducting the study, researchers at the University of Maryland in the US - and the IRSS research institute in Burkina Faso - first identified a fungus called Metarhizium pingshaense, which naturally infects the Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria. The next stage was to enhance the fungus. They turned to a toxin found in the venom of a species of funnel-web...

Just in time for the hot, humid, bug-bite-riddled summer, here's another disease to worry about: Researchers from the University of Florida have confirmed a new mosquito-borne virus has made the jump from infecting only animals to infecting humans in a study published earlier this month. The first known case of the Keystone virus has been identified in a 16-year-old boy after a year of tests and analysis, Glenn Morris, director of the university's Emerging Pathogens Institute, told NPR member station WUSF. The teen was infected while attending band camp in north Florida last summer, and suffered from a fever and...

The Zika scare of 2016 could lead to a yellow fever panic this year if South Florida residents let down their guard when it comes to protecting themselves from disease-carrying mosquitoes. There hasn’t been a yellow fever outbreak in the United States in more than 100 years, but state health officials are concerned that a large outbreak in Brazil and others in South and Central America could lead to infected travelers bringing the disease to South Florida, which has the right mosquitoes and climate for it to spread. The disease is deadlier than the Zika virus. Zika raised alarms because...

Mosquito bites are bothersome enough, but when you consider risks, like getting sick with Zika, dengue, or chikungunya, it’s important that you choose an insect repellent that works well and that you feel comfortable regularly using. Protect yourself when traveling: Learn about country-specific travel advice, health risks, and how to stay safe by visiting CDC Travelers’ Health website. Use insect repellent: Use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellent with one of the following active ingredients. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.DEETPicaridin, also known as KBR 3023, Bayrepel,...

Estimated range of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the United States, 2017* Prevention of mosquito bites is the best defense. Geographically, the 75% of the range includes approximately 85% of the U.S. population. CDC has updated the estimated range maps for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes by using a model that predicts possible geographic ranges for these mosquitoes in the contiguous United States. The model used county-level records, historical records, and suitable climate variables to predict the likelihood (very low, low, moderate, or high) that these mosquitoes could survive and reproduce if introduced to an area during the...

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Florida health officials have confirmed the first case of locally acquired Dengue fever in Miami-Dade County. The infection is primarily spread through bites of infected mosquitoes. The person infected with the virus has already received medical treatment and is expected to make a full recovery. Health officials are investigating close contacts around the person to make sure more people are not infected. Miami-Dade Mosquito Control says they are conducting aggressive mosquito control efforts in the area of concern. Dengue fever can present itself as a flu-like illness with muscle aches, pain, fever and sometimes a rash. The...

[Puerto Rico] Health Secretary Ana Ríus Armendáriz spoke about the possibility that the mayaro virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, may arrive to the island. This comes following the reporting of the first case in Haiti, which may result in spreading to the Dominican Republic, and, subsequently, to Puerto Rico. "It has a low incidence [and] produces severe pain. Once this virus reaches the Dominican Republic, it is a matter of time before it gets here," Ríus said during an interview with [radio station] WKAQ 580. The mayaro virus, which is common in the tropical zones of...

Jane Orient, M.D., serves as the Executive Director of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). This Arizona-based organization attracts conservative-thinking doctors and frequently finds itself in disagreement with the well-known American Medical Association.Dr. Orient has issued a call to start using DDT in the fight against the Zika virus. Her stand places her in marked contrast to an assortment of leftist environmentalists and their political allies. To them, DDT is harmful. But examination of the claims that DDT adversely affects people, plant life, and fish shows the worries to be unreasonable if not completely false.Created in 1874 by...

The first wave of genetically modified mosquitoes were released Wednesday in the Cayman Islands as part of a new effort to control the insect that spreads Zika and other viruses, officials in the British Island territory said. Genetically altered male mosquitoes, which don’t bite but are expected to mate with females to produce offspring that die before reaching adulthood, were released in the West Bay area of Grand Cayman Island, according to a joint statement from the Cayman Islands Mosquito Research and Control Unit and British biotech firm Oxitec. …

Statewide total climbs to 246 confirmed Zika cases in Florida this year No cases of local transmission by mosquitoes, health department says First child born in Florida with Zika-related birth defect reported this week ====== Florida health officials confirmed the largest number of new Zika infections in a single day on Friday with 10 people affected, raising the statewide total to 246 cases this year, including 43 pregnant women. The new cases were announced on the same week that state officials reported Florida’s first baby born with a Zika-related birth defect. The baby is at least the fifth child born...

Members of the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) gathered on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to request the help of Congress in combatting the Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, particularly urging Congress to ease the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of insecticides and products being developed to kill the mosquitoes. Karl Malamud-Roam, Public Health Pesticides Program Manager at Rutgers University, said at the “Mosquito Control to Minimize Zika Virus Risk” event that the tools in place to confront the Aedes breed of Zika-carrying mosquitoes were “okay, we will do a good job with the tools we have, they’re good...

The release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys cleared a significant hurdle Friday when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced they pose no significant environmental danger. The preliminary findings, to be published in the Federal Register, will be open for public comment for the next 30 days. But the initial federal review likely clears the way for a long-delayed field trial by British producer Oxitec in the tiny affluent neighborhood of Key Haven a mile east of Key West. Pitched as a safer, more affordable way of battling Oxitec’s modified male mosquitoes are engineered to produce offspring...

The Zika virus outbreak currently gripping the Americas could have been sparked by the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in 2012, critics say. The insects were engineered by biotechnology experts to combat the spread of dengue fever and other diseases and released into the general population of Brazil in 2012. But with the World Health Organisation(WHO) now meeting in Geneva to desperately discuss cures for the Zika virus, speculation has mounted as to the cause of this sudden outbreak. The Zika virus was first discovered in the 1950s but the recent outbreak has escalated alarmingly, causing birth defects and a...

Transmitted through the sting of an infected mosquito, the virus can cause a birth defect called microcephaly in newborn babies. The rare condition shrinks the brains of unborn babies and could affect as many as 4 million people before a vaccine is developed. But scientists at the biotech firm Oxitec, based in the U.K., have an alternative plan. They want to unleash armies of gene-hacked mosquitoes into Brazilian jungles to seek and destroy the disease-carrying insects. The genetically modified mosquitoes wouldn't fight the Zika carriers in probiscus-to-probiscus combat. In fact, these mosquitoes make love, not war. That's because the mosquitoes,...

The negative side effects of pesticides sprayed during mosquito season to reduce the risk of West Nile virus appears to have made its way onto the Peninsula. A Palo Alto bee keeper said many of his bees died after spraying last month. Neighbor Upset About Noisy Preschool Puts 'Shut Up' Sign in Window Denise Bonilla from he Santa Clara County Vector Control said an extremely low dose of pesticides are used during fogging and are only sprayed when necessary. "We want to make sure we only fog the are where there is West Nile virus activity," Bonilla said. A mosquito...

Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases. Never before have insects with modified DNA come so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood. […] Dengue and chikungunya are growing threats in the U.S., but some people are more frightened at the thought of being bitten by a genetically modified organism. More than 130,000 signed a Change.org petition against the experiment. Even potential boosters say those responsible must do more to show that benefits outweigh the risks. […]...