Simulum fly bites

Serological Responses and Biomarker Evaluation in Mice and Pigs Exposed to Tsetse Fly Bites

BACKGROUND Tsetse flies are obligate blood-feeding insects that transmit African trypanosomes responsible for human sleeping sickness and nagana in livestock. The tsetse salivary proteome contains a highly immunogenic family of the endonuclease-like Tsal proteins. In this study, a recombinant version of Tsal1 (rTsal1) was evaluated in an indirect ELISA to quantify the contact with total Glossin...

Bio-Bites!

Bio-Bites!

Vermont has mandated labeling of food containing genetically modified ingredients by July 2016. Representatives of the food and biotechnology industries and the Us Grocery Manufacturers Association in Washington DC are opposed to the law, and it is likely to be challenged in the federal court. References the week in science: Britain pledges to be more open about animal research; stanford Univer...

Bio-Bites!

Arthropod bites.

The phylum Arthropoda includes arachnids and insects. Although their bites typically cause only local reactions, some species are venomous or transmit disease. The two medically important spiders in the United States are widow spiders (Latrodectus), the bite of which causes intense muscle spasms, and the brown recluse (Loxosceles), which may cause skin necrosis. Widow bites usually respond to n...