A blaze at an apartment building has displaced residents and led to two injuries, almost two years after a fire at the same building displaced dozens.

A jury has found a Naramata, B.C., man guilty on two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of two brothers. Wade Cudmore, 35, was one of two men accused in the May 2021 drug deal killings of Kamloops, B.C., brothers Erick and Carlo Fryer.

A Syilx Okanagan woman has filed a lawsuit against church authorities and the Canadian government alleging she was physically and sexually abused as a child at a Catholic-run Vernon, B.C., school.

Is a Fed rate hike in March a certainty? If the correction in equity markets is prolonged, the central bank could decide to postpone any increase until June.

Justin Kirkland scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout Tuesday night as the Calgary Flames prevailed 4-3 over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Marc-André Fleury stopped 26 shots in what will likely be his final game in Pittsburgh as the Minnesota Wild beat the Penguins 5-3 on Tuesday night. He spent 13 seasons with Pittsburgh and won Stanley Cups in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

Not only does Mary the Asian elephant prefer to shower herself, but she's really good at it. So good, in fact, that her dexterous bath-time ritual is the subject of a new study about animal tool use. 

Two buildings collapsed on Hamilton’s Gore Park early Monday morning after being boarded up for over a decade. The fire department says no one was injured and the city has issued an emergency demolition order.

The Calgary-based team beat Hamilton Forge FC in a 2-1 nail-biter at home on Saturday, in front of a sold-out crowd of over 7,000 fans at Spruce Meadows.

New rebuilding regulations in Jasper have been approved, but roadblocks — including the sheer number of people that are needed for construction — are popping up.

Mosquitoes transmit deadly pathogens from person to person as they obtain the blood meal that is essential for their life cycle. Female mosquitoes of many species are unable to reproduce without consuming protein that they obtain from blood. This developmental stage makes them highly efficient disease vectors of deadly pathogens. They can transmit pathogens between members of the same species and different species that can provide a route for evolving zoonotic viruses to jump from animals to humans. One possible way to develop novel strategies to combat pathogen transmission by mosquitoes is to study the sensory systems that drive mosquito reproductive behaviors, in particular the neural architecture and circuits of mosquito sensory afferent neurons, the central circuits that process sensory information, and the downstream circuits that drive reproductive behaviors. The study of mosquito neuroanatomy and circuitry also benefits basic neuroscience, allowing for comparative neuroanatomy in insect species, which has great value in the current model species-heavy landscape of neuroscience. Here, we introduce two important techniques that are used to study neuroanatomy and neural circuitry—namely, immunofluorescent labeling and neural tracing. We describe how to apply these approaches to study mosquito neuroanatomy and describe considerations for researchers using the techniques.

A researcher may have many reasons for wanting to establish new laboratory colonies from field-collected mosquitoes. In particular, the ability to study the diversity found within and among natural populations in a controlled laboratory environment opens up a wide range of possibilities for understanding how and why burdens of vector-borne disease vary over space and time. However, field-collected mosquitoes are often more difficult to work with than established laboratory strains, and considerable logistical challenges are involved in safely transporting field-collected mosquitoes into the laboratory. Here, we provide advice for researchers working with Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae, and Culex pipiens, as well as notes on other closely related species. We provide guidance on each stage of the life cycle and highlight the life stages for which it is easiest to initiate new laboratory colonies for each species. In accompanying protocols, we provide methods detailing Ae. aegypti egg collection and hatching as well as how to transport larvae and pupae from the field.

The establishment of neural connectivity is a major part of neural development. The central nervous system (CNS) midline is the most characterized axon guidance choice point, and work in Drosophila has played a pivotal role in understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible. Axons respond to attractive cues such as Netrin via the Frazzled receptor, and repulsive cues such as Slit via Robo receptors. Both signals are expressed at the CNS midline, affect pioneer axons, and have dramatic effects on the axon scaffold as a whole. Here, we focus on previous research analyzing classic mutants in the Slit/Robo pathway, which can readily be detected with a dissecting microscope. We also discuss analyzing these mutants in a teaching lab situation. The combination of sophisticated genetics and reliable axonal markers in Drosophila allows phenotypic analysis to be performed at the single-cell level. The elaborate architecture of neurons is very sensitive to disruption by genetic mutations, allowing the effects of novel mutations to be easily detected and assessed.

CRISPR–Cas9 has revolutionized gene editing for traditional and nontraditional model organisms alike. This tool has opened the door to new mechanistic studies of basic mosquito biology as well as the development of novel vector control strategies based on CRISPR–Cas9, including gene drives that spread genetic elements in the population. Although the promise of the specificity, flexibility, and ease of deployment CRISPR is real, its implementation still requires empirical optimization for each new species of interest, as well as to each genomic target within a given species. Here, we provide an overview of designing and testing single-guide RNAs for the use of CRISPR-based gene editing tools.

Analysis of taste sensory responses has been a powerful approach for understanding principles of taste detection and coding. The shared architecture of external taste sensing units, called sensilla, in insects opened up the study of tastant-evoked responses in any model of choice using a single-sensillum tip recording method that was developed in the mid-1900s. Early studies in blowflies were instrumental for identifying distinct taste neurons based on their responses to specific categories of chemicals. Broader system-wide analyses of whole organs have since been performed in the genetic model insect Drosophila melanogaster, revealing principles of stereotypical organization and function that appear to be evolutionarily conserved. Although limited in scope, investigations of taste sensory responses in mosquitoes showcase conservation in sensillar organization, as well as in groupings of functionally distinct taste neurons in each sensillum. The field is now poised for more thorough dissections of mosquito taste function, which should be of immense value in understanding close-range chemosensory interactions of mosquitoes with their hosts and environment. Here, we provide an introduction to the basic structure of a taste sensillum and functional analysis of the chemosensory neurons within it.

The host associations of mosquitoes vary by species, with some species being relative generalists, whereas others specialize, to varying extents, on a particular subset of the available host community. These host associations are driving factors in transmission dynamics of mosquito-vectored pathogens. For this reason, characterizing the host associations of mosquito species is critical for understanding the epidemiology of mosquito-vectored pathogens. Diverse methods have been used to associate mosquito species with their hosts. These typically include collecting mosquitoes that bite a restrained host (bait) or collecting wild blood-engorged mosquitoes and matching their blood meal to reference samples (blood meal analysis). Blood meal analysis refers to a collection of molecular techniques for determining the taxonomic identity of the source of a mosquito blood meal using cytological, serological, or DNA-based characteristics of the blood meal. Blood meal analyses that are based on DNA markers have advantages over cytological and serological methods and are effective for determining species-level identities of hosts from a broad range of potential host taxa. Here, we discuss effective techniques for analyzing blood meals.

Transposon-mediated transgenesis of mosquito vectors of disease pathogens followed the early success of transgenesis in the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The P transposable element used in Drosophila does not function canonically in mosquitoes, and repeatable, routine transgenesis in mosquitoes was not accomplished until new transposable elements were discovered and validated. A number of distinct transposons were subsequently identified that mediate the introduction of exogenous DNA in a stable and heritable manner in mosquito species, including members of the genera Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex. The most versatile element, piggyBac, is functional in all of these mosquito genera, as well as in many other insects in diverse orders, and has been used extensively outside the class. Transposon-mediated transgenesis of recessive and dominant marker genes and reporter systems has been used to define functional fragments of gene control sequences, introduce exogenous DNA encoding products beneficial to medical interests, and act as "enhancer traps" to identify endogenous genes with specific expression characteristics.

Anautogenous female mosquitoes, which ingest a blood meal from warm-blooded vertebrates to produce eggs, have become a valuable model organism for investigating signaling pathways and physiological processes that occur during egg development. Different molecular pathways tightly regulate the initiation of egg development and are governed by a balance among different insect hormones. Gravid (mature egg-carrying) females deposit fully developed eggs at the end of each gonotrophic cycle, which is defined as the time interval between the ingestion of a blood meal to oviposition. An intact eggshell protects the oocyte and embryo inside from external factors such as desiccation, physical damage, etc., and the various eggshell proteins are spatially and temporary deposited during oogenesis. Additionally, follicle resorption (oosorption) during blood meal–induced mosquito ovarian follicle development is an adapted physiological process that optimizes reproductive fitness. Mosquito oocytes grow and mature synchronously throughout oogenesis; however, during the later stages of oogenesis, some oocytes may undergo oosorption if sufficient nutrients are unavailable. This introduction highlights how mosquito egg development can be used to investigate follicular resorption and identify proteins involved in eggshell formation in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

An OM couple serving in Bar, Montenegro share how a short-term team building a shelter has had positive and lasting impact on a community they serve through a club for kids.

Zero-Gravity Arm Reduces Injuries, Saves Money, and Improves Product Quality

Andergauge and National Oilwell are the latest of more than 300 petroleum industry companies to streamline product development and delivery

Permasteelisa selects 1,200 licenses of SolidWorks 3D modeling software to more quickly satisfy clients' high expectations for beautiful and unparalleled function

Besser Company has significantly compressed its mold design cycle

Cometal builds on successful investment in COSMOS design analysis software

Customers highlight ability to see flow of gasses, liquids, and heat helps designers anticipate and correct flaws early in the design process

Texas

Students will begin learning 3D mechanical design as early as seventh grade

Software helps engineers choose the most promising designs for slicers and sanitation equipment by comparing and contrasting features and performance in virtual design environment

U.K. firm cuts design time for products used by BP, ExxonMobil, and Chevron

SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD data to fuel interactive design on the Web

3D CAD models are faster to create and easier to comprehend

Competition sponsored by SOLIDWORKS and

The U.K. 's No. 1 water utility uses 3D CAD software to achieve right-first-time design

3D CAD software is the platform of choice for teaching students the fundamentals of how to design quality products

3D CAD software enables engineers to conduct more "what-if" scenarios for hoisting equipment used in the automotive, steel, railroad, and rapid transit industries

Addresses high demand for integrated electrical and mechanical design platform

DS SOLIDWORKS Makes the Case for LEGOs, Robots, and Racing Cars

3D Design-Inspired Gifts for Everyone on Your List

Scott Bauer, Prosper Trading Academy

Todd Colvin, Ambrosino Brothers

Bob Iaccino, Path Trading Partners

Scott Bauer, Prosper Trading Academy

Todd Colvin, Ambrosino Brothers