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Why malaria-spreading mosquitoes are so hard to kill – and how scientists found a way to kill them without impacting the environment or other living creatures.

Mosquito full of blood

How mosquitos transmit malaria

Almost half of the people in the world live in an area where malaria parasites can infect and kill them. Malaria parasites enter the body via a mosquito. The parasites travel to the liver where they can remain undetected for as long as a year.

While in the liver, malaria parasites develop and release toxic substances that infect red blood cells. These toxins are dumped into the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body. This is when symptoms begin to show. Symptoms of someone infected with malaria include fever, chills, headache, vomiting, sweating, cough, and chest, stomach, and muscle pain. Often these symptoms appear in waves or “attacks” that come and go.

Are mosquitoes good for anything?

Mosquitoes are known for their annoying bites and their potential to transmit diseases. Despite the negative impact they have on human health, mosquitoes do play a role in the ecosystem.

One of the ways mosquitoes contribute to the ecosystem is as a source of food for many other animals, including birds, bats, and other insects. Without mosquitoes, these animals would have less food to eat and could struggle to survive.

In addition, mosquitoes can contribute to the pollination of certain plants. When mosquitoes feed on the nectar of flowers, they can pick up pollen and transfer it to other flowers as they move around. This process can help plants reproduce and maintain their populations.

However, the potential ecological benefits of mosquitoes are outweighed by the negative impact they have on human health.

Why can’t we kill all the mosquitoes?

Fighting the mosquitoes that transfer malaria to humans has been difficult. Mosquitoes have developed resistance to the chemical insecticides that are used to control them. But even the chemicals used to kill mosquitoes were bad for humans. Now scientists have found a way to kill mosquitoes without harming people or the environment.

For a long time, scientists knew of bacteria that killed mosquitoes, but they did not understand why the bacteria made mosquitoes die. This year, scientists in California found the answer. The found the mosquito-killing bacterial produces a neurotoxin (a poison that acts on the nervous system) that is fatal to mosquitoes. Scientists worked for more than a decade to figure this out.

The neurotoxin was named PMP1. It is similar to botulinum or tetanus, both very dangerous to humans. But PMP1 does not affect humans, fish, insects, or mammals. This means PMP1 can be used to control mosquitoes without impacting the environment and hurting other animals. According to scientists:

“This could just be the start of a new way to prevent hundreds of thousands from getting sick and dying every year.”

Mosquito biting a person
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