Mosquitoes are an annoying, if mostly harmless, summer threat in the UK and Europe. However, they are a major disease carrier in other parts of the world, spreading Dengue fever and Chikungunya. They were the primary vector for transmitting the Zika virus during its 2015 outbreak, and remain a serious threat in South and Central […]
Global health and food security is being threatened by fungus, as the fungus Aspergillus has been invading maize crops across the world. This is a problem because the fungus produces a protein called aflatoxin, which is toxic to humans and other animals, making the corn inedible. The toxic protein can cause liver cancer, as the […]
A controversial new study is being carried out, at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, on monkeys that have been genetically modified to have the behavioural traits of human autism. Autism is a developmental disorder that influences how a person relates to and communicates with others. The researchers added a gene that is known to cause […]