Malaria in Fossilised Bat Flies encased in Amber - research Paper

Background

Both sexes of bat flies in the families Nycteribiidae and Streblidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) reside in the hair or on the wing membranes of bats and feed on blood.

Members of the Nycteribiidae transmit bat malaria globally however extant streblids have never been implemented as vectors of bat malaria.

The present study shows that during the Tertiary, streblids also were vectors of bat malaria.

Results

A new haemospororidan, Vetufebrus ovatus, n. gen., n. sp., (Haemospororida: Plasmodiidae) is described from two oocysts attached to the midgut wall and sporozoites in salivary glands and ducts of a fossil bat fly (Diptera: Streblidae) in Dominican amber.

The new genus is characterised by ovoid oocysts, short, stubby sporozoites with rounded ends and its occurrence in a fossil streblid.

This is the first haemosporidian reported from a streblid bat fly and shows that representatives of the Hippoboscoidea were vectoring bat malaria in the New World by the mid-Tertiary.

Conclusions

This report is the first evidence of an extant or extinct streblid bat fly transmitting malaria.

Discovering a mid-tertiary malarial parasite in a fossil streblid that closely resembles members of a malarial genus found in nycteribiid bat flies today shows how little we know about the vector associations of streblids.

While no malaria parasites have been found in extant streblids, they probably occur and it is possible that streblids were the earliest lineage of flies that transmitted bat malaria to Chiroptera.

Vetufebrus ovatus n. gen., n. sp. (Haemospororida: Plasmodiidae) vectored by a streblid bat fly (Diptera: Streblidae) in Dominican amber

Malaria Found in Blood Sucking Bug Fossilised in Amber

Researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) have discovered the fossil of a blood-sucking vampire bat fly, in the La Búcara mine - which is located in the Cordillera Septentrional mountain range of the Dominican Republic.

The researchers discovered the tiny insect frozen in amber (fossilised tree sap). The fossil is between 20 and 30 million years old.

Incidentally, the scientists also found the bat fly was carrying a strain of the malaria disease; this provides evidence that the disease may have existed even 20 million years ago.

"Bat flies are a remarkable case of specific evolution, animals that have co-evolved with bats and are found nowhere else," said George Poinar, a Professor of Zoology at OSU.

The researchers also stressed that bat flies were not common creatures and that not every bat feeds on blood.

Nevertheless, the species is widespread, with different animals appearing at different places around the world.

"Bats are mammals that go back about 50 million years, the only true flying mammal, and the earliest species had claws and climbed trees," Poinar added.

"We now know that bat flies have been parasitising them for at least half that time, and they are found exclusively in their fur. They are somewhat flat-sided like a flea, allowing them to move more easily through bat fur," he concluded.

Cyborg Insects: First To Monitor Hazardous Places

Cyborg insects can possibly be the first to check and monitor hazardous places instead of man.

Doing so, dangerous accidents can be prevented and at the same time, people will easily know the status of the area.

These robo-insects will be able to check if there are trapped victims or potential explosion.

Roboexperts are finding ways on how to make sure that they will create the best roboinsect for the job. They have to make sure that everything is set before they launch these insects.

The research was conducted at the University Of Michigan College Of Engineering led by Professor Khalil Najafi and Erkan Aktakka.

Both of them are trying to find ways on how to harvest energy from the insects to utilize them more. That way, these robotic insects can last longer and will not be trapped in hazardous places in case they run out of battery.

The main idea of the team is to collect the cyborg’s biological energy from either its body heat or movement.

These tiny insects were designed to convert kinetic movement to electricity to prolong their battery life.

That way, they can use the power in using applications like camera, gas sensor, or microphone in checking hazardous areas.

Cyborg Insects are just like Robotic Spiders created a month ago to check the status of chemical accidents.

These small robotics are created to reduce the risk of accidents and deaths caused by experiments and other hazardous causes.

Because scientists and researchers all over the world want to provide a safer and better place for everyone, they are continuously discovering and trying things that may harm not only people but the environment.

Therefore, having these creepy little crawlers is indeed a great help in the world of science and technology.

The number of people affected on chemical accidents and other hazardous causes are continuously increasing.

These cases could have been prevented if proper assessments have been done. And because of that, scientists have become more aware on what to do.

Definitely, more of these cyborgs and robotic creatures will be created for almost the same purposes in the near future.

Learning Difficulties: Exposure to Pesticides in Womb

Babies exposed to high levels of pesticides while in the womb may suffer from learning problems, a new study suggests.

The study focused on a chemical called permethrin, one of the pyrethroid pesticides, commonly used in agriculture and to kill termites, fleas and household bugs, says lead author Megan Horton of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. 

Most of the pregnant women in this New York-based study were exposed by spraying for cockroaches.

Permethrin — among the most commonly detected pesticides in homes — is being used more often today as older organophosphorous pesticides are phased out because of concerns that they harm brain development, says Horton, whose study is being published today in Pediatrics.

Researchers measured 348 pregnant women's exposures by asking them to wear backpack air monitors, Horton says. Researchers followed the women and their children for three years.

Children exposed to the highest pesticide levels before birth were three times as likely to have a mental delay compared to children with lower levels, the study says. 

Children with the highest prenatal exposures also scored about 4 points lower on an intelligence test, the Bayley Mental Developmental Index. That test has a mean score of 100, with most people's scores falling within 15 points of that range.

That's about the same intelligence loss caused by lead, says Philip Landrigan, a pediatrics professor and environmental health expert at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Pyrethroid pesticides kill bugs by "being toxic to the developing brain," Landrigan says. The results are "very believable and should be taken seriously," Landrigan says.

Because the study is the first to link permethrin with brain damage, researchers need to conduct additional studies before concluding that the pesticide really harms the brain, says Mary Fox, an assistant professor at John Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Even without definitive data, however, Fox says it makes sense for pregnant women to reduce their exposure to bug sprays and other pesticides.

To control bugs, for example, she suggests fixing water leaks, keeping food tightly covered and, if necessary, spraying outside instead of inside the home.

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......and remember kids, bugs are our friends, cause they keep Pop in business.