Fungus modified with spider, scorpion venom may be key to stopping disease

A way to stop mosquito bites? A Maryland professor says its in how they breed

Mosquitoes are a major annoyance in the D.C. region, but massively deadly in other parts of the world. And the only thing they like more than breeding is biting you.

Researchers in Maryland may have figured out a way that turns their affinity for breeding against them — leaving them disinterested in you until they die off days later.

Entomologists at the University of Maryland traveled to West Africa to test their theory out. They took venom from spiders and scorpions and mixed it with fungus native to that region. Each spore of that supercharged fungus, which is microscopic in size, meant death to mosquitoes. And even better, “Doesn’t hurt people,” said Raymond St. Leger, a professor at the University of Mary