Learn how to protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes that may carry disease while you are on vacation

Dengue virus can be eliminated by injecting Wolbachia bacteria in mosquitoes. Researchers are still finding ways to spread Wolbachia in an urban mosquito population.

Using CRISPR/Cas9, a gene editing tool gene, the FREP1 gene can be inactivated to reduce mosquitoes vulnerability to Plasmodium parasite, a genus that causes malaria in humans.

Releasing mosquitoes infected with a type of bacteria could wipe out the spread of dengue, thereby reducing global dengue cases by 90 percent, reports a new study.

The flying animals, natural mosquito predators, can eat up to 1,000 of the disease-spreading insects in an hour. And officials in New Hempstead, New York, are installing 'bat boxes' to attract them.

Florida governor Rick Scott confirmed that all four of the state's mystery Zika cases almost certainly came from local mosquito bites. They mark the first outbreak of the infection in mainland America.

The 'killer' gene, that could dramatically alter the course of the Zika virus in America, shortens the life of the insects' young and should make the population crash, halting the spread of the disease.

The news will bring relief to health officials in Zika-infected Miami after fears the insects had grown a resistance to insecticide.

The finding makes clear the need for pesticide programs that kill both adult mosquitoes and their eggs. Current methods are not adequate, warns study co-author Dr Robert Tesh of the University of Texas.

Monroe County residents have backed a proposal to release a lab-developed group of mosquitoes designed to infect the Zika-carrying mosquito population with a fatal disease.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District released 20,000 male mosquitoes infected by the Kentucky-based company MosquitoMate with naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria.

FEMA is using modified Air Force C-130 aircraft to spray chemicals in Houston and likely Florida to help control disease-carrying mosquitoes from breeding in the regions following recent storms.

Scientists at British biotech firm Oxitec are infecting female mosquitoes (the only ones that bite) with a hereditary gene that means their offspring cannot survive outside a lab.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a device they call a LAMP OSD which can plug into a smartphone to reveal whether a mosquito is the Aedes aegypti species.

Cases of dengue fever at sites in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reduced by 40 per cent after an international team of scientists injected mosquitoes with a strain of Wolbachia.

The malaria-blocking bug, Microsporidia MB, was found by University of Glasgow scientists in the gut and genitals of mosquitoes living on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya.

The insect, known by the scientific name Aedes aegypti as well as the common name 'yellow fever mosquito', currently only thrives in the world's hottest regions.

The insect, known by the scientific name Aedes aegypti as well as the common name 'yellow fever mosquito', currently only thrives in the world's hottest regions.

Scientists in California are breeding and releasing mosquitos into Zika hotspots. While it may seem like they're making matters worse, they are actually releasing a kind of biological trojan horse.

Sara Mitchell discusses the co-evolution of sexual traits in mosquitoes and their influence on malaria transmission. David Grimm discusses daily news stories. Hosted by Susanne Bard. [Img: © Sam Cotton]

This week, we chat about some of our favorite stories -- including a new bacterial model for alien life that feeds on cosmic rays, tracking extinct “bear dogs” to Texas, and when we stop caring about plane crashes -- with Science’s Online News Editor David Grimm. Plus, Alexa Billow talks to Staff Writer Kelly Servick about her feature story on the releasing modified mosquitoes in Brazil to combat diseases like Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Her story is part of a package on mosquito control.  Listen to previous podcasts  [Image: © Alex Wild; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

DNA fingerprinting has been used to link people to crimes for decades, by matching DNA from a crime scene to DNA extracted from a suspect. Now, investigators are using other parts of the genome—such as markers for hair and eye color—to help rule people in and out as suspects. Staff Writer Gretchen Vogel talks with Sarah Crespi about whether science supports this approach and how different countries are dealing with this new type of evidence. Sarah also talks with Jill Fernandes of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, about her Science Advances paper on a light-based technique for detecting Zika in mosquitoes. Instead of grinding up the bug and extracting Zika DNA, her group shines near-infrared light through the body. Mosquitoes carrying Zika transmit this light differently from uninfected ones. If it’s successful in larger trials, this technique could make large-scale surveillance of infected mosquitoes quicker and less expensive. In our monthly books segment, Jen Golbeck talks with author Sarah-Jayne Blakemore about her new work: Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain. You can check out more book reviews and share your thoughts on the Books et al. blog. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

Interview with Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, author of Biosafety Concerns Involving Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Combat Malaria and Dengue in Developing Countries

These drugs could have beneficial population-wide effects in areas at risk for malaria and Zika, according to modeling study