Research aimed at understanding how lice feed off humans may lead to new methods to control the blood-sucking pest that can transmit fatal diseases. In the November issue of the journal Insect Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Purdue and Harvard university researchers report finding lice genes that control the breakdown of their human blood meal into energy and waste. They also identified the first gene in lice that may impact the insects’ ability to fight off bacterial infections. The study is currently on the journal’s Web site http://www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/3/9/0/.
