Tag: Aedes
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Lab-reared mosquitoes maintain their lust for blood
Words and images: Perran Ross Modified mosquitoes raised in laboratories are being released into the wild in disease control programs. These mosquitoes will still bite you, but they’re less capable of transmitting the viruses that cause dengue fever, Zika and more. This antiviral effect is caused by infection with a bacterium called Wolbachia, which occurs […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2019/11/07/lab-reared-mosquitoes-maintain-their-lust-for-blood
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Releases of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes for disease control
Words and images: Perran Ross When animals raised in captivity are released back into the wild, you might picture cute and furry mammals from an endangered species. But in many countries around the world, people are releasing mosquitoes raised in laboratories into the environment. These mosquitoes feed on human blood and are vectors of dengue, […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2019/09/18/releases-of-wolbachia-infected-mosquitoes-for-disease-control
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Using bacteria to control mosquitoes Dr Tom Schmidt and Professor Ary Hoffmann “This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article.” Living inside the cells of insects is a type of bacteria that is looking increasingly like the key to controlling the spread of dengue fever, the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases. […]
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Cracking the kinship code: Measuring animal dispersal across generations with DNA
NEW paper! Dispersal is a key component of the ecology and evolution of animal populations. It allows animals to colonize new habitats, escape deteriorating conditions, and locate mates. When animals disperse and breed successfully in new habitats that are already occupied by the same species, there will be an exchange of genes. This exchange is […] -
Stowaway mozzies enter Australia from Asian holiday spots – and they’re resistant to insecticides
Original article published on The Conversation Words: Tom Schmidt, Andrew Weeks, and Ary Hoffmann We might not be able to use common insecticides to kill mosquitoes that arrive from other countries. from www.shutterstock.com Planning a trip to the tropics? You might end up bringing home more than just a tan and a towel. Our latest […] -
SEEKING MSc STUDENT | Buruli Ulcer’s Most Wanted – Understanding the mosquito associated with the flesh-eating bacteria, Mycobacterium ulcerans
Aedes notoscriptus has been identified in association with the emerging bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans, which causes Buruli ulcer, as well as being a vector of Ross River virus. Key ecological features such as bloodmeal feeding patterns and movement dynamics of individuals are however not clearly defined. This project will involve both laboratory and field-based components. Field […] -
Large male mosquitoes unluckier in love
Words and images: Perran Ross Large male mosquitoes may have more trouble than smaller males in finding a partner. In a new study, we find that small female mosquitoes tend to avoid larger males, preferring to mate with smaller ones. In this study, now available as a pre-print on bioRxiv, we performed laboratory experiments to […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/05/31/large-male-mosquitoes-unluckier-in-love
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New publication | Fine-scale landscape genomics helps explain the slow spatial spread of Wolbachia through the Aedes aegypti population in Cairns, Australia
Author summary and figures by Tom Schmidt Wolbachia is a bacterium that suppresses the capacity for arbovirus transmission in the mosquito Aedes aegypti, and can spread spatially through wild mosquito populations following local introductions. Recent introductions in Cairns, Australia have successfully established Wolbachia in the Ae. aegypti population, but the infection has spread more slowly than expected […] -
NEW PROJECT | Buruli ulcer
Words and photo: Jason Axford On 26 April at the Peter Doherty Institute, Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, announced new NHMRC funding to investigate the mysterious and rather horrific disease commonly known as Buruli ulcer (BU) (formerly known as Bairnsdale ulcer). The project is led by Prof. Tim Stinear in the Department of Microbiology […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/05/10/new-project-buruli-ulcer
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The Wolbachia pandemic | Symbionts spread rapidly across highly diverged flies
Words: Perran Ross Cover photo: Andrew Weeks Wolbachia are perhaps the most prevalent bacterial symbionts on earth. Of the millions of insect species, Wolbachia are estimated to infect up to half of them. These bacteria are renowned for the effects they exert on their hosts, which can often be quite dramatic. Some Wolbachia strains are […]
Number of posts found: 21