The mosquito: the world's deadliest animal

The Naked Scientists Podcast

Dr Chris Smith

Science Radio, Engineering, Naked Scientists, Natural Sciences, Technology, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Science

4.6 • 957 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Coming up, we explore the tremendous impact mosquitoes have had throughout their evolution. In this episode, we break down what mosquitoes are, how they track down a meal, the diseases they carry, and the strategies that scientists are currently deploying to control them... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Transcript

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0:00.0	All engine running.
0:03.4	Absolutely genius.
0:04.6	Welcome.
0:05.4	Welcome.
0:06.3	This is the show where we bring you science.
0:08.2	What that essentially means is discovery.
0:10.3	Advances.
0:11.3	Research.
0:11.9	Technology.
0:12.9	Unbelievable.
0:13.8	Without further ado, this is the naked scientists.
0:17.3	Hello, welcome to the naked scientist podcast.
0:19.5	This is the program that brings you the biggest breakthroughs
0:22.1	and also talks to the major movers and shakers in the worlds of science, technology and medicine.
0:27.4	I'm Chris Smith.
0:28.6	And this week, we're delving into the biology of the world's most dangerous animal, the mosquito.
0:44.3	Music animal, the mosquito. Now, mosquitoes have been evolving for more than 100 million years, adapting to shifts in
0:49.3	climate and environment and also, of course, the emergence of us humans.
0:54.2	There themselves is also exploited by a host of diseases that make use of their blood-sucking biology
0:59.6	to hitch a ride between hosts. I'm of course referring to parasites like malaria, the transmission
1:05.9	of which to millions of people worldwide is what makes the mosquito one of the world's most dangerous animals.
1:12.3	So on today's program, they're going under our microscope to reveal where they came from,
	...

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