Mosquitoes Really Can Carry Libraries of Animal DNA
From missing dinosaur feathers to fictitious pack-hunting behaviors, many details of the Jurassic Park movie franchise belong firmly in fantasy, but not the mosquitoes. Yet, incredibly, the films’ central premise may be more realistic than expected: Mosquito meals really can provide a thorough ecological snapshot of the area they buzz about, new research from the University of Florida finds. “They say Jurassic Park inspired a new generation of paleontologists, but it inspired me to study mosquitoes,” says entomologist Lawrence Reeves. Reeves, fellow entomologist Hannah Atsma, and their colleagues caught more than 50,000 individual mosquitoes, representing 21 different species, across a 10,900-hectare protected reserve in central Florida over eight months. Based…
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When a pregnant woman’s blood was drawn in 1972, doctors discovered that a surface molecule found on all other red cells known at the time was mysteriously missing. After 50 years, this strange molecular absence finally led researchers in the UK and Israel to describe a new blood group system in humans. In 2024, the team published their paper on the new discovery. “It is a huge achievement and the culmination of a long team effort to finally establish this new blood group system and to be able to provide the best care for rare but important patients.” This was said by haematologist Louise Tilley, of the UK’s National Health…
