Pondering the Brain of the World’s Deadliest Animal with Chris Potter

Among the more than 8 million species of animals one kills upwards of 600,000 people every year, most of which are children. By transferring an infectious agent into a human’s blood female Anopheles gambiae mosquitos cause malaria. Here Chris Potter at Johns Hopkins University talks about his research that is revealing how the nervous system of mosquitos senses the presence of a human and decides whether or not to bite. His research is advancing understanding of the cellular and molecular organization and function of the mosquito brain, and is contributing to the development of new effective and safe insect repellents. He also talks about the promise and potential unintended consequences of genetic engineering technologies, such as gene drives, aimed at eliminating mosquito populations.

 

LINKS

 

Professor Potter’s Labpage: https://potterlab.johnshopkins.edu/

Review article:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8256107/pdf/bjab021.pdf

Olfactory centers in the mosquito brain:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5063964/pdf/ncomms13010.pdf

Insect repellents:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6832857/pdf/nihms-1539869.pdf

Gene drives:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8344398/pdf/41576_2021_Article_386.pdf

Impact of climate change on mosquito-borne disease:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9334478/pdf/40121_2022_Article_647.pdf