Scientists Build Anti-Mosquito Laser
March 16, 2009 by Lisa Zyga
A laser that kills mosquitoes could help reduce the spread of malaria. Image credit: PlaneMad/Wikipedia
(PhysOrg.com) -- In an effort to prevent the spread of malaria, scientists have built a laser that shoots and kills mosquitoes. Malaria, which is caused by a parasite and transmitted by mosquitoes, kills about 1 million people every year.
The anti-mosquito laser was originally introduced by astrophysicist Lowell Wood in the early 1980s, but the idea never took off. More recently, former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold revived the laser idea when Bill Gates asked him to explore new ways of combating malaria.
Now, astrophysicist Jordin Kare from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Wood, Myhrvold, and other experts have developed a handheld laser that can locate individual mosquitoes and kill them one by one. The developers hope that the technology might be used to create a laser barrier around a house or village that could kill or blind the insects. Alternatively, flying drones equipped with anti-mosquito lasers could track the insects with radar and then sweep the sky with the laser.
The researchers are tuning the strength of the laser so that it kills mosquitoes without harming other insects or, especially, people. The system can even distinguish between males and females by the frequency of their wing movements, which may be important since only females spread the parasite.
In experiments, the system could target mosquitoes with a flashlight, and then uses a zoom lens to feed the data to the computer, which fires at the insect. Each time the laser strikes a mosquito, the computer makes a gunshot sound. When the mosquito is hit, it bursts into flame and falls to the ground, and a thin plume of smoke rises.
The anti-mosquito laser is just one of many novel ways to kill the disease-carrying insects, in addition to the conventional strategy of vaccinating humans. Other ideas include devices that disrupt the mosquitoes' senses of sight, smell, and heat; feeding them poisoned blood; infecting them with a genetically altered bacterium; and creating a malaria-free mutant to overtake the natural mosquitoes.
via: Wall Street Journal
© 2009 PhysOrg.com
3 hours ago
Plus it's for real.
The evil in me is wondering it could be developed such that the laser tuned to permanently incapacitate the mosquito and then affect its brain into thinking that it is extremely itchy all over its little body.
Oh sweet poetic justice! Is it bad that I am laughing maniacally?
For example:
The larvae are a good food source in ponds, adults to many other animals like birds;
they also pass on viruses which can mutate genetic code, and help evolution (or kill).
In this way they will control population of humans, and other animals.
Life is all connected, remove one element and it could all turn unstable
Is there a model that targets both mosquitos and black flies? I live in the country and could really use a device like that. (The fly electrocuter from COSTCO is rather limited.)
Using lasers, we don't expect to eradicate mosquitoes entirely, but they can be a way to help reduce their populations enough that malaria can't survive. In particular, the laser system can help create a perimeter to keep people safe.
As far as we know, there aren't any species that rely solely on mosquitoes as a food source, so even extinction might be acceptable. We're not trying to eradicate mosquitoes though, we're trying to eradicate malaria.
Also, pesticides, such as DDT are non-discriminatory. They can take care of mosquitoes, but harm lots of other life forms as well. Because of DDT's abuse, there are bans and economic sanctions that prevent its use. Changing that is a political problem.
Thanks, I will try to respond if there are further questions here.
I hope those villagers be able to afford this system?
Thanks for the clarification. Can you give us the website for your lab?
And finally, if one can not get one for some reason, or it's not effective, then one might need to cure that accuired malaria, where this could be of help:
http://www.miracl...ndex.php
As I was a kid I was afraid of bats until I found out one summer that they ATE mosquitos. Then I watched them quietly every evening with respect and glee!
http://www.worldw...tesh.htm