Removing vital genes that affect a creature’s behaviour could be a way to ameliorate the impact of disease vectors such as mosquitoes. Vinaya Shetty and colleagues describe the effects of knocking out the circadian clock gene in Aedes aegypti – a significant arboviral disease vector.
While the ‘greening’ of cities offers a promising avenue for enhancing urban resilience to climate change, careful consideration must be given to balance the benefits of green spaces with effective mosquito control.
Krisztian Magori reviews the horrid history of the impact of war and conflict on infectious diseases, the protection provided to civilians by international humanitarian law, and the track-record of compliance with such protection in recent and current conflicts.
The new, approved malaria vaccine has moved to a national distribution in Cameroon, marking a small but mighty milestone in control of the parasitic disease.