SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Weaving a Weapon Against Malaria
from the (Raleigh, NC) News and Observer
RALEIGH -- For most people in North Carolina who are bitten by a mosquito, the result is no worse than an itchy welt. But for people in tropical countries, mosquito bites often cause sickness and death from malaria.
Now an N.C. State University researcher aims to stop the disease spread by halting these insects in their prime, putting a dent in the estimated 243 million cases of malaria reported worldwide.
A mosquito usually lives up to two weeks, just enough time for a malaria parasite to mature and infect the insect's victims. But diatomaceous earth--ground-up fossilized algae that is nontoxic to humans--is an insecticide that can kill mosquitoes in only a few days, said Marian McCord, a textile engineer at N.C. State.
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