Researchers analysed more than 1.28 million reported cases of malaria, dengue, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis across the Brazilian Amazon and found that these diseases form distinct regional patterns linked to land use, rural economies and environmental change. The findings suggest that disease risk is shaped not only by insect vectors, but also by broader social and environmental conditions, with implications for public health, land-use planning and disease surveillance.

A breakthrough in the fight against Lyme disease is moving from the laboratory to the hardware store. Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio are developing a non-toxic biologic that could soon be available in big-box and home improvement stores.

This will offer a new line of defense against the most common tick-borne illness in the United States.

The project, led by Janakiram Seshu, a professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in the College of Sciences, shifts the focus of Lyme disease prevention from humans to the surrounding environment — specifically, small mammals and birds. Rather than vaccinating people or pets, the UT San Antonio team is targeting the “reservoir hosts” — small mammals like squirrels, chipmunks and white-footed mice — that naturally carry the bacteria and pass it to ticks.

How many insects and spiders live in one square metre of meadow? What impact do humans have on this biodiversity in mown meadows, lawns and roadside verges? A new online tool answers these questions: the Insect Calculator, developed by researchers at TU Darmstadt.