Scientists believe they have found a quirky way to fight mosquito-spread diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika - by turning male insects deaf so they struggle to mate and breed.
Mosquitoes have sex while flying in mid-air and the males rely on hearing to chase down a female, based on her attractive wingbeats.
The researchers did an experiment, altering a genetic pathway that male mosquitoes use for this hearing. The result - they made no physical contact with females, even after three days in the same cage.
Female mosquitoes are the ones that spread diseases to people, and so trying to prevent them having babies would help reduce overall numbers.
The team from the University of California, Irvine studied Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread viruses to around 400 million people a year.
They closely observed the insects' aerial mating habits - that can last between a few seconds to just under a minute - and then figured out how to disrupt it using genetics.
They targeted a protein called trpVa that appears to be essential for hearing.
In the mutated mosquitoes, neurons normally involved in detecting sound showed no response to the flight tones or wingbeats of potential mates.
The alluring noise fell on deaf ears.
In contrast, wild (non-mutant) males were quick to copulate, multiple times, and fertilised nearly all the females in their cage.
The researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, who have published their work in the journal PNAS, said the effect of the gene knock-out was "absolute", as mating by deaf males was entirely eliminated.
Dr Joerg Albert, from the University of Oldenburg in Germany, is an expert on mosquito mating and I asked him what he made of the research.
He said attacking sense of sound was a promising route for mosquito control, but it needed to be studied and managed.
"The study provides a first direct molecular test, which suggests that hearing is indeed not only important for mosquito reproduction but essential.
"Without the ability of males to hear - and acoustically chase - female mosquitoes might become extinct."
Another method being explored is releasing sterile males in areas where there are pockets of mosquito-spread diseases, he added.
Although mosquitoes can carry diseases, they are an important part of the food chain - as nourishment for fish, birds, bats and frogs, for example - and some are important pollinators.
The government has announced plans to make it illegal to smoke in children's playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals in England, with some places also becoming vape-free.
In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is already an offence to smoke on NHS hospital grounds.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also make it impossible for anyone currently aged 15 or under to buy cigarettes - something the previous government had planned - and give more powers to restrict vape flavours, displays and packaging.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government was taking "bold action" to create a smoke-free generation, "clamp down on kids getting hooked on nicotine through vapes" and protect the vulnerable from the dangers of second-hand cigarette smoke.
Plans include extending the indoor smoking ban to certain outdoor settings, such as schools and hospitals, to protect children and the most vulnerable.
It said it was considering outdoor vaping bans too in some places.
The proposals will all be open to public debate over the coming months.
Under the bill, shops would have to obtain a licence in order to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This would mean on-the-spot fines of £200 for retailers selling unregulated products or to people aged under 18.
A registration system for retailers selling these products has been in place in Scotland since 2017.
Smoking puts huge pressure on the NHS. It kills 80,000 people a year in the UK and is responsible for one in four of all deaths from cancer.
It also increases the risk of many illnesses including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, asthma and dementia.
The government said smoking also cost the economy £18bn a year in lost productivity, with smokers a third more likely to be off work sick.
Health charities have welcomed the bill, which will be subject to consultation for the next six months.
Action on Smoking and Health said it would help create a country where young people would never start smoking.
“It is important to have the debate about how we will protect children and vulnerable people from the harms of second-hand smoke," said the charity's chair, Prof Nick Hopkinson.
He added: "A key next step is for the government to set out further how it will help the UK’s six million smokers to quit. This will require a properly funded plan, paid for by a levy on tobacco companies.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, British Heart Foundation chief executive, said she welcomed the government's commitment to protect children and vulnerable people from second-hand smoke in schools, playgrounds and hospital grounds.
"We also welcome measures to make vaping less appealing to young people," she said.
There were more than 440,000 incidents of shop theft recorded in one month alone this year
Shoplifting is at "unacceptable" levels and not being tackled properly, a Lords inquiry has found.
The crime is seriously underreported and the problem is so urgent police forces need to take "immediate action", according to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee.
It says retailers need to be able to report crimes more easily, more funding is needed for offender rehabilitation, and regulations should be introduced to make it more difficult to sell stolen goods online anonymously.
The Home Office said it was making assaults on shopworkers a criminal offence and deploying "thousands" of police officers dedicated to tackling shoplifting.
The Lords committee held an inquiry into tackling shoplifting in which it heard evidence from police chiefs, retailers and industry experts in May and September.
In a letter published today, it said there were more than 443,000 incidents of shop theft recorded by police in March 2024 – the highest ever since records began 20 years ago.
But they were "a drop in the ocean" when compared with likely real figures estimated at 17 million annually – which has "devastating consequences for businesses and families".
Shop theft has evolved from "individualised offending to relentless, large-scale, organised operations accompanied by unprecedented levels of violence", it added.
Tracey Robertson, co-owner of Paw Prints – a small chain of pet shops across Yorkshire – says shoplifting costs her business around £8,000 a year.
"It’s a financial impact on a family business. It’s bad in the fact that it affects the staff that work for us because sometimes it’s aggressive and violent," she said.
Tracey Robertson, who owns a small chain of pet shops in Yorkshire, says shoplifting costs her around £8,000 a year
The committee supported schemes like Project Pegasus - a partnership between retailers and police to tackle organised shoplifting gangs - but said there needs to be a strategy to deal with local prolific offenders too.
"The scale of the shop theft problem within England and Wales is totally unacceptable and action, like that under way in the Pegasus scheme, is vital and urgent," said Lord Foster of Bath, chair of the committee.
The committee found there is a widespread perception that shop theft is not treated seriously by the police which "risks undermining confidence in the police and wider criminal justice system".
It said shoplifting cost the retail sector nearly £2bn last year – which resulted in price rises impacting individuals, families and communities.
"We acknowledge the pressures on police resources, but we believe that the urgency of the situation relating to shop theft requires immediate action within existing police staffing levels," the letter said.
It has made a series of recommendations to the government which it says would "help tackle the problem and keep the public and our economy safer".
These include:
Phasing out the use of the outdated term "shoplifting" which serves to trivialise the severity of the offence
Developing improved reporting systems to enable retailers to report crime to the police quickly and easily
Increasing funding to community-based reoffending and rehabilitation initiatives
Introducing regulations to make it more difficult to sell stolen goods on online marketplaces anonymously
Introducing regulations and best practice guidance for the use of facial recognition technology by private companies
Shop owner Tracey Robertson believes the recommendations do not go far enough and wants to see much tougher sentences for repeat offenders.
Professor of criminology Emmeline Taylor, who gave evidence to the inquiry, said the committee recommendations are "far-reaching" and understand the multiple root causes of shop theft.
"If adopted by the police, the industry and the government it will certainly do a huge amount to begin to turn the tide on the tsunamic of shop theft that has impacted the retail sector across the UK."
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said it welcomed the report which further highlights the significant impact retail crime has on its victims.
"We are doing all we can to reduce thefts and pursue offenders, especially those prolific and habitual offenders, who cause misery within the community," said Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, the NPCC’s lead for acquisitive crime.
The Home Office said it understands the "devastating impact" of shop theft has on communities.
A spokesperson added: "We are taking immediate action through our commitment to scrap the £200 shop theft threshold, and making assaults on shop workers a criminal offence.
"We will also put thousands more dedicated police officers on our streets, and establish a Retail Crime Forum for retailers to confidently implement tactics against shop theft."
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