Artificial Lights As a Weapon To Fight Against Malaria:
A study demonstrated that artificial lights can be used as a weapon to fight against malaria.
Key highlights:
- Light plays a crucial role in the regulation of biological clocks such as timing of breeding among birds, hunting by lions and sleeping patterns of humans.
- The timing of day and night has remained relatively constant owing to the earth’s rotation, life on the planet has evolved with such regular day-night cycles.
- Melatonin hormone is a gene responsible for regulating the sleep-awake cycles.
- It is found in plants as well as animals.
- A rapid change in the natural sleep cycles has been observed on account of increased use of artificial light
- Currently, around 80% of the world’s population is living under artificially lit skies.
- Artificial light can alter mosquito biology.
- Malaria-transmitting mosquito species “Anopheles” feeds at night.
- Using artificial light, the mosquitoes can be tricked to behave as if it’s daytime.
- A short pulse of Light Emitting Diode (LED) light, commonly can delay the onset of biting by hours in the mosquito “Anopheles”.
- Therefore, it reduces biting rates and malaria transfer.
