Grapefruit-derived nootkatone potentiates GABAergic signaling and acts as a dual-action mosquito repellent and insecticide.

Humanity has long battled mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit-a struggle intensified by climate change and globalization, which have expanded mosquito ranges and the spread of associated diseases. Additionally, widespread insecticide resistance has reduced the efficacy of current control methods, necessitating new solutions. Nootkatone, a natural compound found in grapefruit, shows promise as both a mosquito repellent and an insecticide.

Schreckstoff: It takes two to panic.

Schreckstoff (fear substance) is an alarm signal released by injured fish that induces a fear response. Its chemical nature has long been debated. A new study finds that zebrafish Schreckstoff is composed of at least three components, two of which elicit the fear response only in combination.

Insect genomics: A lousy fly.

The bee louse (Braula coeca) is a honeybee inquiline and a long-standing taxonomic mystery. A new study unravels their genomic architecture and shows that these enigmatic flies have evolved from scale insect-exploiting drosophilid ancestors and share genetic similarities with their honeybee hosts.

Genomes from historical Drosophila melanogaster specimens illuminate adaptive and demographic changes across more than 200 years of evolution.

The ability to perform genomic sequencing on long-dead organisms is opening new frontiers in evolutionary research. These opportunities are especially notable in the case of museum collections, from which countless documented specimens may now be suitable for genomic analysis-if data of sufficient quality can be obtained. Here, we report 25 newly sequenced genomes from museum specimens of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, including the oldest extant specimens of this species.

Neuroscience: Flies and grits.

Food texture affects palatability. A new study finds that the common dew fly Drosophila melanogaster is also choosy when it comes to food texture. Flies evaluate size and presence of food particles through neurons in the tongue that express the mechanically activated channel protein TMEM63.