Worldwide insect decline: Causes, consequences and potential countermeasures

Phys.com  April 27, 2023 The continuing decline in the diversity and biomass of insects and other arthropods has caused great concern not only among scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders. A major reason for this is that many ecosystem services depend on diverse insect communities. Despite numerous studies on the dynamics of insect communities their causes are still not fully understood. An international team of researchers (Switzerland, Germany) addressed the causes and consequences of population and diversity trends spanning 10 to 120 years aiming at a better mechanistic understanding of the observed dynamics. covering freshwater and terrestrial insect taxa across five biomes. […]

DARPA Selects Teams to Modify Skin Microbiome for Disease Prevention

DARPA  November 6, 2020 The ReVector program aims to maintain the health of military personnel operating in disease-endemic regions limiting exposure to mosquito-transmitted diseases. In order to advance concept of exerting precise control over our microbiomes to provide protection from mosquito-borne diseases, DARPA has awarded ReVector Phase 1 contracts to Stanford University and Ginkgo Bioworks. They are tasked with developing precise, safe, and efficacious technologies to modulate the profile of skin-associated volatile molecules by altering the organisms that are present in the skin microbiome and/or their metabolic processes. Phase 1 of the ReVector program (18 months) will focus on modifying […]