Mosquitoes are the world’s most dangerous animal.  It’s about time for us to take a massive scientific slap at these irritable little creatures.

Mosquito bites have many times proved fatal for human beings. But if researchers
from University of Arizona in Tucson have their way, one-day mosquito bites may
prove deadly to the mosquitoes as
well.

The study, led by Roger
Miesfeld, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics in UA’s College
of Science, discovered that one particular mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, has
a surprisingly complex metabolic pathway, one that requires its members to
excrete toxic nitrogen after gorging on human blood.

If the mosquitoes fail to do
so, they’ll also fail to lay eggs, and will likely sicken and die. "Our goal is
to turn the female mosquito’s blood meal into the last meal she ever eats,"
Miesfeld said.

The researchers
are seeking a molecule that is harmless to humans, but will gum up the works of
mosquito metabolism, forcing the mosquitoes to hang onto the nitrogen. Such a
molecule would kill both the mosquitoes and their would-be progeny, thus slowing
the spread of disease.

Once
found, this molecule could be developed into an insecticide and sprayed in
places where mosquitoes congregate. The study is published in the Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.

Via Times of India