The Learning Hub: The fight against the world’s deadliest animal continues

The fight against the world’s deadliest animal continues

Screening system to determine what mosquitoes are equipped to smell

By Bill Gates | August 14, 2023

Compared to a shark bite, a mosquito bite seems pretty mild. But the reality is, I'm a lot more afraid of a tiny mosquito than a great white. And my fear is backed up by data. Mosquitoes and the diseases they carry kill more people in a single day than sharks kill in 100 years.

So each year, I like to call attention to the world’s deadliest animal—along with the incredible science and innovation mobilizing to defeat the diseases it spreads. This week, I’m sharing stories on my blog about the people leading this fight, the places they’re focusing their efforts, the technology they’re using (and creating from the ground up) to make an impact, and the obstacles that are still in the way.

1 A storied fragrance company in Switzerland is tapping into its massive scent library to figure out whether some fragrances that smell nice to humans can repel malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

2 A biotech company is developing genetically-modified mosquitoes to combat an urban mosquito strain that migrated from South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula—which, if left unchecked, threatens to put another 126 million people in Africa at risk of malaria.

3 A Cameroonian scientist left his university in the United Kingdom to study insecticide resistance in mosquitoes in the field—while cultivating the next generation of African malaria researchers in his home country.

4 A British geneticist is studying the mosquito collection at London’s Natural History Museum to better understand how the insect evolves and mutates over time, which could inform the efforts to make better insecticides and next-generation malaria vaccines.

And that’s just the start. Check out Bill Gate's Instagram and YouTube channel throughout the week to learn even more about mosquitoes—including why the fight against a warming planet and the fight against malaria are so closely connected.

©The Learning Hub 2023

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