| By Emma Court Malaria is one of the most well known and potentially life threatening diseases spread by mosquitoes. What’s often overlooked, however, is that malaria doesn’t originate with mosquitoes. It’s caused by a parasite, which infects the insect. Humans get malaria via the bite of an infected mosquito. This led a group of scientists to an interesting thought: What if you could cure mosquitoes from malaria? That would prevent the disease from spreading in the first place. The ingenious approach is being advanced by a team involving institutions including Harvard University. The researchers published a peer-reviewed paper this week in the journal Nature outlining roughly two dozen drug compounds that might be able to do the job. They envision drugs could be applied to bed netting, and insects that land on it could be treated. One key motivator for this strategy is mosquitoes are becoming more resistant to insecticide. But the scientists say the drugs would likely be used alongside insecticide, so bugs that aren’t killed could be treated. Even if you hate mosquitoes, I think you can live with that. Read the full story on the new research here. Penguins may be helping limit global warming’s impact on their home in an unusual way. A new scientific study finds that accumulated penguin excrement — or guano — emits ammonia, a gas that can contribute to the formation of clouds. This is likely generating a cooling effect by creating a buffer between the sun’s heat and Antarctica’s ice and water. At its typical September peak last year, Antarctica’s sea ice covered the second-lowest area on record. Scientists point to the impact warming oceans are having on the continent, and have warned of significant risks to sea levels if huge ice sheets begin to melt. The new findings on penguins “show a deep connection between ecosystems and atmospheric exchanges that influence local climate,” said Matthew Boyer, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki and one of the study’s authors.  Adelie penguins along the Antarctic coastline. Credit: Matthew Boyer The House’s draconian cuts to former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law won’t fly in the Senate, key Republican senators said Thursday. Just hours after the House narrowly passed a massive tax and spending bill gutting key clean-energy tax incentives, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate was planning its own effort. “They give us a good product to work with but we have senators who want to write our own bill,” Thune said. Other Republican senators said they were already planning to make changes.
Softening aggressive phaseouts of key tax credits for clean electricity production and nuclear power projects are among the top priorities, said Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican from Alaska who has bucked her party on key votes before. “I’m concerned about the direction the House takes,” Murkowski said. “Obviously we have our work cut out for us.” Read more on what changes the Senate is expected to make on Bloomberg.com.  Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg Meanwhile, the US Senate voted to block a California program banning gasoline-powered cars and other vehicles by 2035, sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. The 51-44 vote Thursday rolls back an Environmental Protection Agency waiver issued under former President Joe Biden. Microsoft is buying green cement from startup Sublime Systems. The tech giant is looking to reduce its indirect greenhouse gas emissions through a first-of-a-kind deal, which allows Microsoft to claim the carbon reductions associated with the cement, even if it doesn't use the material itself. Deutsche Bank won’t move ahead with a plan to add restrictions on financing oil and gas, as it assesses the legal risks of doing so, according to CEO Christian Sewing. Germany’s largest lender has “largely completed” an update of its guidelines for the oil and gas industry, which includes limits on the financing of oil sands, hydraulic fracking in certain geographies and Arctic exploration, he said. With the US government slashing climate incentives and programs, companies working on global warming solutions are being forced to cut costs. This week Akshat Rathi speaks with Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder of Climeworks, a startup that pulls carbon dioxide from the air, about its first major layoffs and what the future holds for the most expensive climate solution. Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday.  Jan Wurzbacher Photographer: Heida Helgadottir/Bloomberg | 
