#85 Elizabeth and the Blood Feeding Network (Mexico)

How do you find out which animals a mosquito has been biting? You start by thinking like one. In this episode, biologist Elizabeth Linares Alcántara takes us to a public park in Mérida, Mexico, where she hunts blood-fed mosquitoes in their hiding spots and reads the DNA in their tiny abdomens to reveal who they have been feeding on, from humans and iguanas to feral cats and a neighbour's grazing goat.The result is a "blood feeding network" that helps anticipate outbreaks of dengue and other emerging diseases. Elizabeth also shares a finding that turns intuition on its head, and offers a preview of next year's WDA conference, hosted in her own backyard on the Yucatán Peninsula.LinksLearn more about Elizabeth's work on her ResearchGate profile.Check out more details about next year's WDA conference in Merida, about the Latin American WDA chapter and their student chapter.We'd love to hear from you ... share your thoughts, feedback and ideas.