How to use light to suppress mosquito bites and prevent malaria.

How to use light to suppress mosquito bites and prevent malaria. Scientists at the University of Notre Dame have found that exposure to just 10 minutes of light at night suppresses biting and manipulates flight behavior in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, the major vector for transmission of malaria in Africa. The study published in journal parasites and vectors shows that periodic pulses of light suppresses the bites and changes flight behavior of mosquitoes. Insecticide-treated bed nets and walls have helped prevent bites and reduce malaria, but researchers say mosquitoes are adapting to preventive conditions, leaving adults and children vulnerable in the early evening and early morning hours -- when they are not under the nets or in the house. more