Pest control in the distant future?

Scientists are researching ways to turn off "post-mating" behavior, like egg-laying in insects, according to Reuters.

Many female insects undergo profound changes in behavior after mating. Some
species start laying multiple eggs. Female mosquitoes, for example, seek out a
meal of blood -- often spreading malaria in the process.

Scientists have known for some time that such behavior is triggered by a so-called sex peptide molecule in the male's seminal fluid, but it has been unclear how it exerts its impact on the female.

Now Dickson and his colleagues have identified the receptor for the molecule in fruit flies and shown it is key to post-mating behavior. Females lacking the receptor continue to behave as virgins, even after mating, they reported in the journal Nature.

It's no fa-la-la-la-la: Tis the season for asthma

Some winter tips for asthma suffers, particularly children from InsideBayArea.com.

THE NUMBER of children with asthma continues to rise; it is now considered the
most common cause of childhood hospitalization and school absences — an
estimated 14 million lost school days. With the arrival of winter, the estimated
6 million children who suffer from asthma face numerous triggers of the disease.

Breathing in cold winter air can provoke asthma symptoms, as can the
increase in viruses and upper-respiratory infections this time of year. However,
what most people don't know is that there are a host of indoor irritants that
can bring on symptoms as well, such as dust, mold and mildew that accumulate on
holiday decorations during storage, fireplace fumes and scented candles or
potpourri.

"Zombie" Roaches Lose Free Will Due to Wasp Venom

The National Geographic has a story on how wasps can knock out cockroaches with their venom:

The parasitic jewel wasp uses a venom injected directly into a cockroach's brain
to inhibit its victim's free will, scientists have discovered.

And it gets creepier from there!

'Tis the Season For Allergy, Asthma

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology is offering holiday allergy tips:

The stress of the holiday season can sometimes trigger an asthma attack. Monitor your stress levels. If you do feel stressed, deep breathing and relaxation may
help.

If you're sleeping away from home, bring your own pillow with an allergen-proof cover. Ask for down-free pillows.

Avoid wood smoke, which can trigger an asthma attack.

Tackling air quality

The Arizona Daily Star examines indoor air quality:

The costs of indoor pollution are skyrocketing, several studies show.

It costs about $15.9 billion and perhaps up to $20 billion annually nationwide to
prevent and clean up indoor air pollution, says a 2005 EPA study.

In California alone, crummy indoor air costs the state's economy $45 billion
annually due to premature deaths, medical costs, lost worker productivity and
other impacts, says the state's Air Resources Board.

Nationwide, just taking care of childhood asthma caused by indoor pollution costs about $2.3 billion a year.

If society could come up with ways to improve indoor air quality, the
savings would reach $125 billion annually, said the federally financed Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory.

The newspaper also looks at "asthma-proofing the home" and offers advice:

Asthma accounts for more lost school days than any other illness. Its
incidence is far higher today than a generation ago, although asthma rates have
stabilized since 1995 after vaulting 75 percent nationally overall and 160
percent among children under 18 since 1980. The disease has struck about 20
million people in the United States, including about 6.2 million kids 18 and
under, says the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While the disease commonly stems from a genetic predisposition, research has linked individual attacks, and sometimes the onset of asthma, to a range of triggers:
cigarette smoke, dog and cat hairs and dander, cockroaches, dust mites, mold and
air pollution.

Bug bits: News from around the 'net

• The Oklahoman: Homeowners usually can control light infestations of pests in house
• ScientistLive.com: Protein serves as asthma biomarker
• The Hindu (India): ‘Cockroach is the cause in 25 per cent of asthma cases’
  

BANGALORE: Twenty-six per cent of children aged below 18 in Bangalore
suffer from asthma, the causes varying from air pollution to pets and
cockroaches, H. Paramesh, director of Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital, has
said.

[...]

Interestingly, 25 per cent of the cause for asthma was
because of cockroaches while only 7.5 per cent of asthma cases could be
traced back to pollen and fungi in the city, Dr. Paramesh said.

Cockroaches Respond to Peer Pressure, Study Suggests

A surprising story from The New York Times:

Many a mother has said, with a sigh, “If your friends jumped off a cliff,
would you jump, too?”

The answer, for cockroaches at least, may well be yes. Researchers using robotic roaches were able to convince real cockroaches to do things that their instincts told them were not the best idea.