60秒科学:杀蚊虫新方法

科学家发现杀害疾病传播型蚊子的新方法：干扰其泌尿过程。

Message to Mosquitoes: Urine Trouble

You know how uncomfortable it feels when you really have to go to the bathroom? And you have to hold it in? If researchers get their way, disease-carrying mosquitoes will spend their last moments being that uncomfortable. Cornell University scientists [Peter M. Piermarini, et al] have been trying to disrupt the life cycle of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue fever. The mosquitoes pick up the virus when they feed on one human and transmit it in their saliva¹ to their next victim.

There’s no vaccine² for dengue, and no fully³ protective treatment. So the only recourse has been to figure out how to best kill the mosquitoes themselves. Here’s where urination comes in. When the mosquito takes a blood meal, it has to get rid of fluid and salt so it doesn’t overload—and die. Scientists have discovered a key protein in the renal tubes of these mosquitoes that helps with the necessary excretion. Blocking the protein keeps a mosquito from urinating. Without whizzing, they become too heavy to fly away. The researchers say they’re thus more likely to be swatted or eaten. So look for new insecticides that stop mosquitoes from lightening their liquid load. With fatal results.

—Cynthia Graber
 

1 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。