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Mosquitoes buzz excites researchers

Scientists are abuzz with the discovery of a new species of malaria mosquito identified by researchers from Wits University and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and announced by the university.

Scientists are abuzz with the discovery of a new species of malaria mosquito identified by researchers from Wits University and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and announced by the university.

The relative of the Anopheles funestus mosquito was found by researchers outside a reed hut in Malawi, in villages around Karonga, on the shoreline of Lake Malawi.

The male specimens were dry-preserved on silica and 63 female specimens were transported to laboratories in Johannesburg for egg laying.

The survivors and their progeny were reared into adulthood in the laboratory and studies done on them include sequence analysis, primer design and cross-mating examination.

"The results indicate that the Anopheles funestus belongs to a group of similar species that are commonly distinguished from one another through the use of chromosomal and molecular techniques," the university said. - Sapa

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