Free Republic

Jon Bates owns Addicted to Fitness, a gym in Naples, Florida. As a personal trainer, he ends his nights by running 3.5 to 4 miles for both mental therapy and as a way to get his workout in. Bates said his friends give him a hard time about being outside in the humidity and heat when he has access to an air-conditioned gym, but he enjoys his outdoor runs, and the chance to sweat in the fresh air. So last Monday, he set out for his usual run, but on a slightly different route. He told Runner’s World he kept...

Every summer while preparing for long weekends at our family cabin in the north woods of Minnesota, we'd face the same dilemmas. What food should we bring? Is SPF 50 sunscreen enough protection? And, most importantly, which mosquito repellent should we buy? If we picked the wrong kind, we'd be opening ourselves up to evenings of constant swatting by the campfire and nights of uncontrollable itching. Protection from the unofficial state bird, the mosquito, was not something to take lightly. However, while itchy limbs might be annoying, Minnesotans don't have much to worry about from mosquitoes, except for the occasional...

Malaria mosquitoes utilize CO2 from exhaled air to localize humans from afar. In the vicinity of their preferred host, they alter their course towards the human feet. Researcher Remco Suer discovered how female malaria mosquitoes use foot odors in the last meters to guide them to their favoured biting place. Suer, who is defending his doctoral thesis May 9 at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, sees possibilities to disrupt the host seeking behaviour of the malaria mosquito. African malaria mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae, use their olfactory organs, two antennae, two mouthparts (maxillary palps) and the proboscis, to search for their...

Imagine an insect repellant that not only is thousands of times more effective than DEET -- the active ingredient in most commercial mosquito repellants -- but also works against all types of insects, including flies, moths and ants. That possibility has been created by the discovery of a new class of insect repellant made in the laboratory of Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences and Pharmacology Laurence Zwiebel and reported this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "It wasn't something we set out to find," said David Rinker, a graduate student who...

Overview The Center For Disease Control 1999 Gulf War Syndrome Research Summary Report (click here to view and scroll to pdf page 10, or click here to for more details), states that animals fed the same drugs that were given to their 1992 Gulf War Personnel developed health problems that were significantly worse statistically than the sum of the incidence of symptoms when each pill was taken individually. The military personnel were given many pesticides, anti-viral, anti-chemical warfare, anti-biological warfare, and anti-parasite agents. These drugs were originally approved in studies that showed them to be safe when taken individually. In...

SAN BERNARDINO – A San Bernardino County teen is the 17th person in Southern California to be found infected with the West Nile virus, health officials said. The 15-year-old boy began showing symptoms such as extreme exhaustion and fever at the end of June, Robert Miller, spokesman for the state Department of Health Services, said Friday. The teen was hospitalized with a neuro-invasive disease. Sixteen others in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have been infected with West Nile. The disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, is expected to spread throughout the state. Health officials advise people to use...

West Nile virus spreading faster than expected Tuesday, July 30, 2002 By LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press WASHINGTON — West Nile virus is sickening people far earlier this summer than usual, and is spreading so quickly — it's hit 34 states, as far west as South Dakota — that health officials believe it will reach California this year or next. Nobody knows how bad the mosquito-borne illness will get — although a rapidly growing outbreak among 32 people in Louisiana began a month earlier than West Nile has ever struck in this country, a big worry. But it's clear the virus...

Date: Posted 5/2/2002 DEET Brain Effects In Animals Warrant Caution DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke University Medical Center pharmacologist is recommending caution when using the insecticide DEET, after his animal studies last year found the chemical causes diffuse brain cell death and behavioral changes in rats after frequent and prolonged use. Mohamed Abou-Donia, Ph.D. has also called for further government testing of the chemical's safety in short-term and occasional use, especially in view of Health Canada's recent decision to ban products with more than 30 percent of the chemical. Every year, approximately one-third of the U.S. population uses insect repellents...