Scientists combat disease by studying mosquito wing beats
Turns out that annoying buzzing sound that precedes a mosquito strike is some form of love song. Cornell University researchers have established that mosquitoes that are prone to spreading yellow and dengue fever alter their wing beating patterns while mating.
Scientists feel they can use this finding to their advantage to eradicate the disease carriers. The plan is to release sterile males to court the females. Female mosquitoes tend not to mate beyond their first partner. So a primary interaction with a sterile partner will reduce probability of offsprings and the disease bearers will eventually die out.
For now scientists are focusing on studying the beating patterns. Males generally beat twice as frequently as females and both start beating faster when mating occurs. So next time you hear that annoying buzzing, remember that there's a lot more to it than mere buzz.
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- News Source: NewKerala | 10 months agoFor the study, Cornell University researchers recorded mosquito sound to study how they use it in mating...The mating duet, generated just before the couple mates on the fly, settles at around 1,200 hertz -- roughly an octave and a half above concert...
- News Source: Uinta County News | 10 months agoBut for one type of disease-carrying mosquito, the whine of beating wings is sweet romantic music. Courting pairs of the insects serenade each other by performing a remarkable duet in the air. Sweet serenade?...The findings surprised researchers who...
- News Source: Uinta County News | 10 months agoMost duets are blood-chillingly bad ("I'm a Little Bit Country, I'm a Little Bit Rock and Roll," by Donnie and Marie Osmond, springs to mind), and doubtless the mosquito's mating song ranks high among such perturbations. But the identification of a...
- News Source: NewKerala | 10 months agoThe study, available online, will be published in a February issue of Science. Mosquitoes adjust the harmonic resonance of their thoracic box to produce a harmonic frequency that converges at a frequency that is the female's third harmonic (three...
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- News Source: Uinta County News | 10 months agoIn one species, mates are capable of harmonizing, performing love duets by subtly adjusting their buzz frequencies. The mosquito duet was discovered in a recent study of Aedes aegypti , the species that carries and transmits the viruses that cause...
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- Blog Source: www.exfn.comThe insects spread diseases like yellow fever and dengue, so scientists are seeking ways to control their numbers. Understanding their mating habits could open up new avenues, says a team from Cornell University, writing in Science. ...
- Blog Source: scienceblogs.comThis provides a rationale for controlling the number of this mosquito species, and thus reducing the incidence of dengue and yellow fevers, which together affect some 100 million people annually. Sterile males released into the wild may ...
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- Blog Source: lizardjee.livejournal.comTo discover this, scientists super-glued male mosquitoes to a pin and listened as females flew around them. The Cornell University scientists used Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever ...
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