Latest Breakthroughs in Science: Dengue-Control with Sterile Mosquitoes and Ancient Mollusk Discoveries

A Spanish laboratory is sterilizing tiger mosquitoes to combat dengue fever as climate change spreads the species. Meanwhile, fossils in China reveal a primordial slug that sheds light on mollusk evolution. These advancements highlight humanity’s ongoing efforts to address environmental challenges and understand biological history.

In a bid to curb the spread of dengue fever, a Spanish lab is sterilizing thousands of tiger mosquitoes weekly as climate change encourages their spread across Europe. Utilizing an electron accelerator, the lab releases about 45,000 sterilized male mosquitoes to pair with females, potentially diminishing the overall mosquito population.

Simultaneously, paleontologists have uncovered fossils of a spiny slug in southern China that lived during the Cambrian Period, approximately 514 million years ago. This ancient creature offers critical insights into the early stages of mollusk evolution, adding invaluable knowledge to the understanding of the nearly 76,000 existing species of mollusks.

These breakthroughs underscore the relentless drive to manage emerging health threats and unravel the complexities of our world's biological history.

(With inputs from agencies.)