Oxitec aims to curb mosquito populations in the US through genetic modification; specifically, they’re looking to release genetically modified male mosquitoes. These mosquitoes, which are codenamed OX5034 and derived from Aedes aegypti, are modified to produce female larvae that will die before reaching adulthood. This method of population control is the sterile insect technique, and Oxitec had already used these species in 2020 to reduce mosquito populations in Brazil successfully. Read full article here
Science
‘Ghostly’ neutrinos provide new path to study protons
In groundbreaking research, an international collaboration of scientists from the University of Rochester have used a beam of neutrinos to measure the size and shape of the protons that make up the nuclei of atoms. This feat, once thought impossible, provides scientists with a new way of looking at the small components of an atom’s nucleus and opens up a wealth of new information about the structure of an atom’s nucleus and the dynamics of the forces that affect neutrino interactions. The researchers solved the challenge of harnessing neutrinos in large numbers by using a neutrino detector containing a target of both hydrogen and carbon atoms, and over nine years of data collection at Fermilab’s accelerator. Read full article here
Merv
March 25, 2023
