Novel way to beat dengue: Deaf mosquitoes stop having sex

Mutant males struggle to mate, which could offer a way to controll mosquito populations, scientists say.

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Scientists believe they have found a quirky way to fight mosquito-spread diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika - by turning male insects deaf so they struggle to mate and breed.

Mosquitoes have sex while flying in mid-air and the males rely on hearing to chase down a female, based on her attractive wingbeats.

The researchers did an experiment, altering a genetic pathway that male mosquitoes use for this hearing. The result - they made no physical contact with females, even after three days in the same cage.

Female mosquitoes are the ones that spread diseases to people, and so trying to prevent them having babies would help reduce overall numbers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c207gvrn65do

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