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an <em>Aedes aegypti&nbsp;</em>mosquito, black with white dots and stripes on its joints and body, sitting on a person&#39;s skin and feeding.
Smelly Skin Compounds Draw Mosquitoes to Some People More than Others
People with more carboxylic acids in their body odor are more attractive to mosquitoes, a study finds.
Smelly Skin Compounds Draw Mosquitoes to Some People More than Others
Smelly Skin Compounds Draw Mosquitoes to Some People More than Others

People with more carboxylic acids in their body odor are more attractive to mosquitoes, a study finds.

People with more carboxylic acids in their body odor are more attractive to mosquitoes, a study finds.

insect

ant with wings on white background
Secret to Reproductive Ants’ Longevity Revealed
Patience Asanga | Sep 2, 2022 | 3 min read
Researchers say they've figured out how some reproductive ants live up to 30 years—far longer than workers.
An Edith&rsquo;s checkerspot butterfly
Genome Spotlight: Edith’s Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha)
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Aug 25, 2022 | 3 min read
A high-quality genome sequence for this versatile insect will likely aid eco-evolutionary research.
Tortoise leaf beetle on a green leaf
The Double Life of a Fungus: Defends Beetle, Attacks Plant
Andy Carstens | Aug 19, 2022 | 4 min read
Tortoise leaf beetles enjoy the protection the fungus provides from insect predators such as ants, then carry the microbe to a mutual plant host, which their fungal symbiont infects.
Close-up of a mosquito antenna with hair-like protrusions and fluorescently labeled glomeruli as green circles on the shaft
The Neuroscience Behind Why Mosquitoes Always Find You
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Aug 18, 2022 | 5 min read
Neurons in mosquito antennae can express more than one olfactory receptor at a time, a redundancy that likely ensures they don’t lose a potential host’s scent.
Newly hatched stinkbugs climbing over a pile of eggs.
Best Bugs: How E. coli Evolves into a Stinkbug Symbiont
Hannah Thomasy, PhD | Aug 15, 2022 | 3 min read
Experimental evolution study sheds new light on the origin of animal-microbe symbioses and what it takes for bacteria to support their insect hosts.
Close up of ant mandible
Science Snapshot: The Need for Speed
Viviane Callier | Aug 4, 2022 | 1 min read
Understanding the biomechanics of the trap-jaw ant could help humans build better, faster robots.
teabag with green tag on a white background
Spilling the Tea: Insect DNA Shows Up in World’s Top Beverage
Shawna Williams | Jun 14, 2022 | 5 min read
The Scientist speaks with Trier University’s Henrik Krehenwinkel, whose group recently detected traces of hundreds of arthropod species from a sample of dried plants—in this case, the contents of a tea bag.
Octopus in tank lined with black dots
Do Invertebrates Have Emotions?
Natalia Mesa, PhD | May 26, 2022 | 10+ min read
And how do scientists go about answering that question?
A cockroach clings to the inside of a white mug.
Injecting Cockroaches with CRISPR Gene Edits Their Offspring
Sophie Fessl, PhD | May 25, 2022 | 4 min read
A new method has allowed researchers to conduct the first gene knock-out and knock-in edits on cockroaches and may extend to many other insects.
A fossil imprint of the stridulatory apparatus from an extinct cricket species
Listen to Extinct Crickets Chirp
David George Haskell | May 16, 2022 | 4 min read
The land’s first known singer may have sounded like a raspier version of today’s familiar insect fiddlers.
Bat perching upside down in a cave.
Some Bats Buzz Like Hornets to Deter Predators
Natalia Mesa, PhD | May 9, 2022 | 2 min read
The behavior is the first example of a mammal mimicking a more-dangerous species.
Mosquito with red abdomen and white stripes on human skin
Mosquitoes Add Bacteria to Water to Help Larvae Grow: Preprint
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Apr 12, 2022 | 4 min read
Pregnant mosquito females deploy the microbe Elizabethkingia to speed larval growth; the larvae, in turn, help the bacteria outcompete other strains.
Close up photo of a wing
Unearthing the Evolutionary Origins of Insect Wings
Jef Akst | Apr 4, 2022 | 6 min read
A handful of new studies moves the needle toward a consensus on the long-disputed question of whether insect wings evolved from legs or from the body wall, but the devil is in the details.
Yellow and black caterpillar crawling on a leaf in a green background
Virus Alters Caterpillars’ Vision to Trick Them into Climbing
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Mar 25, 2022 | 4 min read
A study finds that a baculovirus that infects cotton bollworm larvae changes the expression of genes involved in light perception, driving them to seek heights that could favor viral transmission.
mummy
Scratchy Scalps Help Glue Together Pieces of an Ancient Past
Chloe Tenn | Dec 29, 2021 | 3 min read
Scientists find human DNA preserved in lice cement from the heads of South American mummies.
black-legged deer tick waits on leaf for host to feed on
A Lab-Stage mRNA Vaccine Targeting Ticks May Offer Protection Against Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases
Andaleeb Sajid | Nov 18, 2021 | 3 min read
NIH researcher Andaleeb Sajid discusses her study’s finding that ticks were unable to feed on vaccinated guinea pigs, preventing transmission of the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.
Illustration showing how seagull chicks know when predators are lurking
Infographic: Animal Embryos Coopt Sound to Survive and Thrive
Amanda Heidt | Nov 1, 2021 | 1 min read
Across the tree of life, animals use sound and other vibrations to glean valuable sensory information about their environments even before they are born.
Conceptual image of an embryo with sound waves
Embryonic Eavesdropping: How Animals Hear and Respond to Sound
Amanda Heidt | Nov 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Recent findings buck the traditional idea that embryos are passive agents and instead suggest that by tuning into vibrations, organisms can better prepare to enter the outside world.
Several tadpoles in clear eggs
Slideshow: How Animal Embryos Eavesdrop on the Outside World
Amanda Heidt | Nov 1, 2021 | 4 min read
Watch and listen to reptiles, amphibians, insects, and birds respond to sound from inside their eggs.
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