Identification of carbon dioxide receptors in insects may help fight infectious disease

User rating: 3 / 5 after 1 vote(s)

Carbon dioxide-sensitive neurons expressing Gr21a (green) and Gr63a (red) proteins that together (white) are necessary for carbon dioxide detection. The neurons target a specific region of the fly brain which is dedicated to processing the smell of c ...
Carbon dioxide-sensitive neurons expressing Gr21a (green) and Gr63a (red), proteins that together (white) are necessary for carbon dioxide detection. The neurons target a specific region of the fly brain, which is dedicated to processing the smell of carbon dioxide. Credit: Vosshall Laboratory

Mosquitoes don’t mind morning breath. They use the carbon dioxide people exhale as a way to identify a potential food source. But when they bite, they can pass on a number of dangerous infectious diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever, and West Nile encephalitis. Now, reporting in today’s advance online publication in Nature, Leslie Vosshall’s laboratory at Rockefeller University has identified the two molecular receptors in fruit flies that help these insects detect carbon dioxide.


Full story »
All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for December 13, 2006

Sweet smell of success: Israelis enhance scent of flowers

31 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
Israeli scientists said Monday they have discovered a way to genetically enhance the scent of flowers, a development that could also be used to breed extra-tasty fruits and vegetables.

Metastatic movements in 3-D

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Caswell et al.report in the Journal of Cell Biology how the altered behavior of integrins can prompt metastatic movement in tumor cells.

Recordings aim to capture calls of the wild West

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- Rattlesnakes aren't to be trifled with, but if you're trying to collect the sound of every creature in the West that slithers, hops, flies or flops, distance isn't a luxury you can afford.

Venus flytraps caught in shrinking natural habitat

Oct 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- Laura Gadd pauses at the edge of a pristine savanna, delicately lifting her feet to avoid trampling any venus flytraps hidden underfoot.

Food for thought -- regulating energy supply to the brain during fasting

Oct 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
If the current financial climate has taught us anything, it's that a system where over-borrowing goes unchecked eventually ends in disaster. It turns out this rule applies as much to our bodies as it does to economics. Instead ...
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive