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We’re told that we can insert a gene to confer sterility and this trait would race like wildfire through Aedes aegypti. Why this species? Because it’s the vector of the Zika virus—along with the dengue and yellow fever viruses. The problem is that A. aegypti isn’t the only culprit. It’s just one of a dozen or more bloodsuckers that will also have to be wiped out. After we’ve driven these species to extinction, we’ll presumably move on to the Anopheles species that transmit malaria.

The post Designer nature: mosquitoes first and then what? appeared first on OUPblog.

Zika continues its romp around the world. In its wake, controversy erupted over the Olympic Games in Brazil, with some calling to move or postpone the Games – but is that really justified? Zika has already moved outside of Brazil in a big way. To be clear, the Zika epidemic is dramatic and awful. Mosquito-borne transmission of this previously obscure and seemingly wimpy virus is ongoing in 60 countries

The post Zika, sex, and mosquitoes: Olympic mix appeared first on OUPblog.

Question: What do Napoléon Bonaparte, Walter Reed, the Panama Canal, and the Zika virus all have in common? Answer: The Aedes aegypti mosquito. Although its official common name, according to the Entomological Society of America (ESA), is the “yellowfever mosquito,” Aedes aegypti is also the primary vector of dengue, chikungunya, and the Zika virus.

The post A short history of the mosquito that transmits Zika virus appeared first on OUPblog.

As I've been doing every morning, I slipped on Rascal's leash today and we set out for a neighborhood walk. I enjoy our morning walks, especially when it's summer and the heat hasn't built up yet. Not too many people are out and about around six o'clock, except joggers, walkers, and occasional cars or bicycles, but the birds are already chirping, and the day is waking up.

I crossed the street and went down half a block. That's when it happened. All of a sudden I felt an itch on the back of my leg, another on my arm, one more on the front of my other leg. I also noticed two black spots on Rascal, which were not part of her normal spotty appearance, so I quickly swiped them off.

We'd been attacked by mosquitos. I hadn't anticipated such a possibility, yet I should have seen it coming. Why hadn't I? For one thing, we'd walked unscathed countless times. For another, my mind was elsewhere, enjoying the faint breeze floating by after a particularly scorching day before.

If I'd stopped to think about it, clues of a mosquito invasion were present. We'd had a heavy rainful the evening before, and the atmosphere was cloudy and muggy. Conditions were ripe for bites. I hadn't gotten them before after it had rained so hard my basement got flooded over a week ago, yet I still should have been vigilant to the possibility.

How does this pertain to writing?

It's a challenge to create a character smart enough to not seem like a dunce, yet at the same time unaware of  lurking dangers. After all, we do want our characters to suffer, but not appear they're too dumb to live. How can we do that?

One way is to get your character so focused on an emotion or thought he or she can't think of anything else until it's too late. I was focused on the breeze.

Another, is to give your character a false sense of security, like I had. The danger for bites had been present, but I'd been lulled into thinking it couldn't happen because it hadn't before.

Can you think of other ways? Or maybe, you'd like to mention something that happened to you after you'd been lullafter into a false sense of security.


Morgan Mandel

Is there anything more horrible than a mosquito keeping you awake? You get out of bed and try to catch it, but you can´t see it, so you go back to bed, and this little beast keeps buzzing like he is on a mission, so you try to catch it again and this goes on all night, until you go crazy. I hate mosquitos so much!

Hay algo más horrible que un mosquito manteniendote despierto? Uno sale de la cama, lo trata de atrapar, pero no se ve, entonces te metes a la cama otra vez y esa bestiecilla sigue zumbando como si tuviera una misión, entonces tratas de atraparlo otra vez y esto sigue toda la noche, hasta que te enloqueces. Odio los mosquitos!

Ah, the wonders of summer: beautiful weather, outside BBQ, and nice cold beers by the pool. Can it get any better than this? On the contrary, it can actually get worse. How, you may ask? How about being viciously attacked by tiny mosquito’s all night long. Who can relax when you are on a mission to kill these little blood sucking flies.

Don’t even bother covering up or spray those commercial promising mosquito repellents. No matter what you do, they will get you.

So, if you are the sweet kind, excuse yourself and gracefully head on home. At least there you know you won’t be on the edge of your seat, waiting for your next attack. 

Ah, the wonders of summer: beautiful weather, outside BBQ, and nice cold beers by the pool. Can it get any better than this? On the contrary, it can actually get worse. How, you may ask? How about being viciously attacked by tiny mosquito’s all night long. Who can relax when you are on a mission to kill these little blood sucking flies.

Don’t even bother covering up or spray those commercial promising mosquito repellents. No matter what you do, they will get you.

So, if you are the sweet kind, excuse yourself and gracefully head on home. At least there you know you won’t be on the edge of your seat, waiting for your next attack. 

Borders Ink (stores carve out a new teen department that will stock graphic novels, fantasy and young-adult titles. Plus PW on the pros and cons of YA titles crossing channels) (WSJ) - 'Do elite colleges produce the best-paid grads?' (New York... Read the rest of this post

I had planned on talking about the recent store visit made by Kadir Nelson or about some of the great books I've just read. However, my husband's brother had a baby girl this morning (the first in 2 generations), and the inlaws are about to descend on us. So, if I have a chance I'll be back later. Otherwise, toodle-loo.

Oh, and it's my friend Topher's birthday, too. Happy Birthday Topher!