Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacterium being employed to fight dengue

Wolbachia: the bacteria that could eliminate dengue fever

Dengue fever, transmitted by mosquitoes, kills more people annually than all types of natural disasters combined. However, mosquitoes that host Wolbachia bacterium have their ability to transmit the virus naturally suppressed, offering a route to eliminating nearly 25,000 deaths annually.

Wolbachia is also being used to slash mosquito numbers

The naturally occurring bacterium does not naturally infect Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but communities in locations including California and Texas have released male mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia and reported a significant drop in subsequent mosquitoes: When infected males mate with uninfected wild females, the eggs don't hatch.

Explore inside a mosquito factory where millions of mosquitoes are bred weekly

In Medellin, Colombia, scientists are infecting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacterium that wouldn't otherwise infect the species, but does block its ability to transmit dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya. In the wild, infected mosquitoes would breed with wild mosquitoes, pass down Wolbachia, and thus reduce disease transmission.

Mosquitoes are the world's deadliest animal—gene drives could kill them

Historically, killing all disease-carrying mosquitoes has not seemed practical and there are concerns about disrupting food webs. Gene editing to render female mosquitoes infertile creates the theoretical possibility of wiping out disease-carrying species, but concerns remain about effectively limiting this engineered trait to target species.

Using mosquitoes to vaccinate bats could curb the spread of deadly diseases

Researchers in China tested a transmissible rabies vaccine in the lab by feeding mosquitoes blood containing the vaccine and observing what happened to bats when they were either bitten by the mosquitoes or fed on them. The bats developed antibodies against rabies and survived subsequent rabies infection. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

How we helped make Aedes aegypti mosquitoes such a problem

Mosquito genome sequencing data suggests that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes first started specializing on human blood around 5,000 years ago—when climates shifted and humans started domesticating plants in Africa and stored large amounts of water that may have attracted the bugs.

Genetic engineering mice is one idea to reduce Lyme disease transmission

Wild white-footed mice are the main carriers of Lyme. A research team is hoping to genetically engineer mice, using CRISPR, to make the animals immune to Lyme. They're proposing a field trial where they would insert a gene with an antibody to Lyme infection to break the disease transmission cycle on a private island and then try it in Nantucket if that goes well. Simply killing the mice isn't an option because it would upend food webs. Unlike traditional vaccines, this "heritable immunization" would pass from one generation of mice to the next.

Synthetic biology can prevent extinction by creating create disease-resilient plants and animals

Through gene editing and the deployment of artificial cells, scientists can leverage learnings from the genetic sequencing of animals with known resistances to protect endangered species. Gene editing of certain species, such as mosquitoes, can also reduce their ability to spread diseases like malaria between humans.

Anopheles mosquitoes are developing resistance to insecticides

The malaria-transmitting mosquito species is developing resistance to the insecticides used in insecticide-treated bed nets and in indoor spraying in people's homes and communities. Malaria parasites are also developing resistance to antimalarial drugs.

West Nile Virus is maintained in nature, even without human infections

Mosquitoes pick up the virus when they feed on birds, and then pass it to other birds with their bite, delivering it via virus-laden saliva. Hundreds of different North American bird species can harbor the virus—even if they don't all get sick from it.

See this diverse list of vector-borne diseases

Human illnesses caused by parasites, viruses, and bacteria, and transmitted by a living organism—often small, bloodsucking ones like mosquitoes, ticks, and sandflies—are known as vector-borne diseases. That carrier is called a vector. These diseases disproportionately affect the poorest populations in tropical and subtropical areas.

Mosquito saliva acts as an anticlotting agent

The bug's piercing mouthpart, the proboscis, is actually several tubes—one for sucking, one for spitting. But the chemicals in its spit actually help its blood meal to flow, combating its victim's ability to clot at the puncture site.

Zika virus shocked scientists because the mosquito-borne disease causes birth defects

This revelation, confirmed in 2016, marked the first time that a mosquito-borne disease was known to cause birth defects. Fetuses exposed to the Zika virus during pregnancy sometimes suffer from neurological complications and microcephaly, a small-headed condition associated with neurological development issues and impairment.

Examining the potential of the emerging field of insect-based bioremediation

Also known as entomoremediation, the novel approach uses larvae and adult insects, including their gut microbiomes and associated enzymes, to extract or degrade pollutants. As of 2025, research has shown that black soldier flies can degrade a wide range of antibiotics, highlighting their potential for bioremediating antibiotic-contaminated organic waste.

Protecting yourself from West Nile involves avoiding getting bites and clearing standing water

The best prevention against West Nile is avoiding getting bit. That means covering your arms and legs with long, loose-fitting clothes, wearing insect repellant—on top of, not under sunscreen, and making your environment as inhospitable to mosquitoes as possible, including clearing any standing water.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

How Disney World keeps out mosquitos

Disney World may have been built on a swamp, but it's nearly free from the annoyance of mosquitos. That hasn't been an easy task; Disney has worked with engineers and pest specialists on minimizing the invasive bugs through a variety of different methods. This Reader's Digest article breaks down how they've successfully kept the park free from these unwanted guests.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak in the DRC is spurring new Ebola vaccine development for the Bundibugyo species.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain health conditions

Early clinical trial research suggests that the parasites trigger the production of specific proteins that quiet our immune systems. This keeps the parasites from being killed, but it also quiets the inflammatory response that underpins allergies, type 2 diabetes, celiac disease, and other autoimmune conditions. Researchers still caution that infection with too many hookworms can cause serious medical complications and that this is not a standardized or approved medical treatment.

Bacteria rapidly evolve (and share) new defenses against drugs they encounter

Unlike humans, bacteria rapidly make genetic changes in response to their environment, including creating defense against antibiotics. Furthermore, these defenses are passed on to their future generations and can even be shared with neighboring bacteria through horizontal gene transfer.

How bedbugs have evolved immunity against pesticides

Bedbugs, once nearly eradicated in the United States due to the use of pesticides like DDT, have made a resurgence, with New York being declared the most bedbug-infested city. The primary reason for the return is the evolution of resistance in...

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola

Monoclonal Antibodies mimic the antibodies produced naturally by the immune system. These molecules target specific parts of the virus, preventing them from entering cells or interfering with their ability to cause harm or infection.

Lyme disease-causing bacteria predate any suspected biological weapons testing

Borrelia bacteria existed long before any US biological weapons program—or human presence in North America. One study comparing genomes of the bacteria behind Lyme disease collected samples of the bacteria over three decades and calculated that the bacterium has been in North America longer than humans, at least 60,000 years. Other work found related bacteria preserved in amber from millions of years ago.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

Researchers are investigating if nanoparticle treatments could combat allergies

In rodent work, Northwestern University’s Evan Scott (now at the University of Virginia) and his colleagues have been trying to attack allergies with specially designed nanoparticles—miniscule lab-made objects that can penetrate cells. They stud the nanoparticles with a tiny bit of the allergen specific to the allergy (i.e. cashew protein for cashew allergy) and antibodies that shut down allergic response processes.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Penicillin works by attacking the cell walls of bacteria

Penicillin targets bacteria at their weakest point—their cell walls. By blocking wall-building, it leaves microbes unable to survive, causing them to burst and die.

The flu vaccine has evolved alongside discoveries of new virus strains

After influenza B was identified in 1940, researchers created a two-strain vaccine by 1942. The WHO later built a global surveillance system to track mutations, enabling vaccines to be updated annually to target the strains most likely to circulate.

An invasive, tree-killing beetle may threaten large swaths of Australia

A Curtin University study warns that large parts of Australia, including major cities and farming regions, could be highly vulnerable to the fast-spreading polyphagous shot hole borer, which releases a fungus that can starve trees of nutrients. The tiny insect has already caused severe damage across the Perth metropolitan area.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.