Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 13 February 2017

Malaria parasite may trigger human odor to lure mosquitoes

MARIA CHENG ticing to mosquitoes, the searchers carefully re-
AP Medical Writer researchers at Stockholm leased hundreds of mos-
LONDON (AP) — Scientists University reported late quitoes — one by one —
may have figured out part last week in the journal Sci- into a Y-shaped tube that
of the reason why mosqui- ence. offered two choices: hu-
toes are drawn to people Malaria kills about 429,000 man blood mixed with the
infected with malaria. people every year, mostly malaria substance or regu-
Mosquitoes prefer biting children in Africa, accord- lar human blood. About 95
people already sickened ing to the World Health Or- percent dove straight into
by malaria, apparently ganization. It spreads when the blood with the malaria
attracted by some kind a mosquito bites someone substance.
of odor. Now, Swedish already infected, sucks up “They all started eating
researchers say they’ve blood and parasites, and very vigorously,” said one
identified a substance then bites another person. of the researchers, Noushin
pumped out by malaria Key strategies against ma- Emami, who painstakingly
parasites that triggers that In this photo, adult mosquitoes are seen through a fluorescence laria include spraying in- recorded the mosquitoes’
smell, noticeable only to microscope at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Insti- secticide, using bed nets responses.
mosquitoes. tute’s Insect Transformation Facility in Rockville, Md. Scientists covered with repellent to Emami and her colleagues
“This is a very interesting may have figured out one reason why people infected with ward off the night-biting in- also found that the mos-
piece of the puzzle,” said malaria are so tempting to mosquitoes who bite them and then sects and trying to identify quitoes devoured more of
Alvaro Acosta Serrano, a spread the disease to others: odor. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) and treat the disease early. the blood with the malaria
parasite researcher at the In 2015, the world’s first ma- substance, which should
Liverpool School of Tropi- laria vaccine was licensed theoretically spread ma-
cal Medicine, who was not attracting fragrance to lure specific substance, which but it only works in about laria faster.
part of the new study. and then wipe out the in- somehow mixes with the one-third of children and Others said that the discov-
It might be possible one sects, he said. infected person’s blood has yet to be recommend- ery is intriguing but needs
day to make synthetic In the bloodstream, ma- cells to give off an aroma ed for use by WHO. to be tested beyond the
versions of the mosquito- laria parasites release a that seems particularly en- For their study, the re- lab.q

Weak and short La Nina fades away; climate shifts to neutral

SETH BORENSTEIN flip side to the climate phe- coming on the heels of ert said, pointing to unusu- La Nina and back in less
AP Science Writer nomenon El Nino has faded one of the strongest El Ni- al cold in Alaska, western than three years has hap-
WASHINGTON (AP) — La away. The La Nina episode nos, said Mike Halpert of Canada and U.S. Northern pened only once before
Nina, we hardly knew ye. lasted only four months the National Oceanic and Plains in December and in the 1960s, Halpert said.
U.S. weather forecasters and was among the weak- Atmospheric Administra- January. Strong La Ninas La Nina’s disappearance
said late last week the cool est and shortest on record, tion’s Climate Prediction usually follow powerful El leaves the world in what is
Center. La Nina, a cool- Ninos, which didn’t happen called a neutral condition,
ing of parts of the equato- in this case, said University making it tougher for mete-
rial Pacific that changes of Washington atmospher- orologists to make seasonal
weather patterns world- ic scientist Mike Wallace. or long-term forecasts.
wide, often lasts a year or Many computer models “In the forecast game you
more, longer than El Ninos. show an El Nino forming like big signals,” Wallace
La Nina conditions were first later this summer or fall, but said. Because of persistent
detected in October and NOAA isn’t making a pre- warming, forecasters will
disappeared in January. diction yet, Halpert said.If continue to call for warmer
“Even though it was fairly an El Nino returns quickly, than normal temperatures
weak and short-lived ... it it would be fairly unusual. for much of the United
did leave impacts,” Halp- Switching from El Nino to States. q