Capsules made of thyme oil and corn starch used to kill mosquito larvae

Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits diseases such as dengue, zika, and yellow fever, is typically controlled utilizing insecticides that harm the environment. Now, however, scientists have created eco-friendly mozzie-killing microcapsu… Continue reading Capsules made of thyme oil and corn starch used to kill mosquito larvae

Smell of CO2 boosts mosquitoes' ability to visually track targets

The LED "flight simulator" used to test the mosquitoes

In order to better trap or evade malaria-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, it helps if we know more about the manner in which they track their victims. New research now indicates that it’s a matter not just of smell, but also enhanced visual processing that’s triggered by smell.

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Continue reading Smell of CO2 boosts mosquitoes' ability to visually track targets

"Eco-friendly" neurotoxin may find use in malaria-mosquito-specific insecticide

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 429,000 people die from malaria annually. And while it’s tempting to spray heavily for the mosquitoes that spread the disease, conventional insecticides are also toxic to humans and oth… Continue reading "Eco-friendly" neurotoxin may find use in malaria-mosquito-specific insecticide

Genetically modified fungus kills malaria-spreading mosquitos in landmark West African trial

A genetically modified fungus designed to safely reduce malaria-spreading mosquito populations has, for the first time, been successfully tested outside of laboratory conditions in a simulated village environment in Burkina Faso, West Africa…. Continue reading Genetically modified fungus kills malaria-spreading mosquitos in landmark West African trial

ERRF 18: Slice Engineering Shows off the Mosquito

With few exceptions, it seemed like every 3D printer at the first inaugural East Coast RepRap Festival (ERRF) was using a hotend built by E3D. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that; E3D makes solid open source products, and they deserve all the success they can get. But that being said, competition drives innovation, so we’re particularly interested anytime we see a new hotend that isn’t just an E3D V6 clone.

The Mosquito from Slice Enginerring is definitely no E3D clone. In fact, it doesn’t look much like any 3D printer hotend you’ve ever seen before. Tiny and spindly, the look …read more

Continue reading ERRF 18: Slice Engineering Shows off the Mosquito

Eradicating Mosquitoes from Your Backyard — with Seltzer?

Q: What do you call 8000 dead mosquitoes in a Mason jar?

A: A good start. And [Dan Rojas]’s low-tech mosquito trap accomplished the feat in two nights with nothing fancier than a fan and a bottle of seltzer.

We know what you’re thinking: Where’s the hack? Why not at least use a laser sentry gun to zap skeeters on the fly? We agree that [Dan]’s mosquito trap, consisting of a powerful fan to create suction and a piece of window screen to catch the hapless bloodsuckers, is decidedly low-tech. But you can’t argue with results. Unless he’s fudging the …read more

Continue reading Eradicating Mosquitoes from Your Backyard — with Seltzer?

Christine Curry Is Helping Expecting Mothers With Zika Prepare For an Uncertain Future

The Florida doctor is one of the leaders in the fight against the debilitating disease. Continue reading Christine Curry Is Helping Expecting Mothers With Zika Prepare For an Uncertain Future

Point and Click to an IoT Button

The availability of cheap WiFi boards like the ESP8266 and others means you can inexpensively put projects on the network. But there is still the problem of how to connect these devices to other places reliably. An Open Source project that attempts to make that whole effort point and click is Mongoose OS. The open source system works with the ESP8266, ESP32, and several other platforms. It is well integrated with Amazon’s IoT backend, but it isn’t locked to it.

Everyone wants to be your IoT broker and we see products appear (and disappear) regularly aimed at capturing that market. …read more

Continue reading Point and Click to an IoT Button

Point and Click to an IoT Button

The availability of cheap WiFi boards like the ESP8266 and others means you can inexpensively put projects on the network. But there is still the problem of how to connect these devices to other places reliably. An Open Source project that attempts to make that whole effort point and click is Mongoose OS. The open source system works with the ESP8266, ESP32, and several other platforms. It is well integrated with Amazon’s IoT backend, but it isn’t locked to it.

Everyone wants to be your IoT broker and we see products appear (and disappear) regularly aimed at capturing that market. …read more

Continue reading Point and Click to an IoT Button