Mosquitoes are a growing public health threat, reversing years of progress

Don't miss this compelling global health series by The New York Times: The fight against mosquitos has never been more urgent as climate change and the rapid evolution of the insect have thwarted efforts to combat devastating diseases like malaria and dengue. Scientists are innovating, reports Stephanie Nolen, pursuing new strategies to protect public health.

Nolen traveled to five countries in Africa and Latin America to cover multiple aspects of this growing global challenge:

Mosquitoes are a growing public health threat, reversing years of progress

Climate change and the rapid evolution of the insect have helped drive up malaria deaths and brought dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses to places that never had to worry about them.

An invasive mosquito threatens catastrophe in Africa

A malaria-carrying species that thrives in urban areas and resists all insecticides is causing outbreaks in places that have rarely faced the disease.

The gamble: Can genetically-modified mosquitos end disease?

Working on a remote island, scientists think they can use genetic engineering to block a malaria-carrying species of mosquito from spreading the disease — and do it in just a few months. But governments are wary.

One village, two houses and a new tactic to win the war on mosquitos

A different way of thinking about mosquito-borne diseases could save billions of dollars and end them for good, some health experts believe.

Unleashing a new weapon on the mosquito: a mosquito

What if, instead of killing the mosquitoes, you could disarm them? Even if you couldn’t keep them from biting people, what if you could block them from passing on disease? What if you could use one infectious microbe to stop another?

Insecticides can't stop the mosquitos. Now what?

Old weapons like bed nets and insecticides don't work well anymore: Mosquitos have evolved to resist and evade them. The world needs to ways to fight mosquitos.

Drone aerial view of new Microsoft data centers
Credit: Mauvries/BigStock Photo ID: 465964923

Erin Brockovich on her fight against ‘secretive’ data centers

Erin Brockovich’s work in helping win a $333m environmental lawsuit in the 1990s spawned a hit film starring Julia Roberts – now, Brockovich tells David Callaway, her attention has turned to the burgeoning issue of data centers.

A group of young schoolchildren sitting around a table

Some Ontario students can’t escape extreme heat

Children are especially vulnerable to extreme heat. Some students in Ontario's Peel Region may have little relief when both their schools and homes are difficult to cool.

Protesters carrying a large sign in the shape of the Earth

Global warming will breach the 1.5 degree celsius limit. Now what?

As global temperature increase shoots past 1.5 degrees Celsius, the vulnerable countries that fought for that Paris Agreement target face a brutal new reality.
A cleared forest with trees in the background

Biomass power surge in Indonesia threatens tropical forests

Expanding deforestation in Indonesia caused by the country’s wood pellet and chip industry is putting further pressure on tropical forests, Key Biodiversity Areas, and Indigenous territories in the archipelago.

A selection of house plants under a tent

America’s houseplants come at a steep price for greenhouse workers

The people who grow houseplants aren't often thought of as agricultural workers, but they face many of the same hardships — especially in extreme heat.
A woman drinking water out of a glass

Jet fuel in the water

This week, co-host Jake Bolster and reporters Marianne Lavelle and Liza Gross discuss the polluting power of fossil fuels and how they are harming two communities in very different ways.
An aerial view of a residential area in Hawaii with inlets and a marina

Battered by storms, Hawai‘i communities search for more resilient solutions

“It’s a sign of the times,” Maui County Council Member Tamara Paltin said. “Everything is kind of cyclical, but I think the Earth is going through just a transition. It’s always changing, but this change is just harder for our built environments and humans to deal with.”

From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

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