Jason Rasgon

Apr 22, 2024

Kissing bugs, vector for Chagas disease, successfully gene edited for first time

Kissing bugs, or triatomine bugs, are the primary vector for Chagas disease. New research from an international team, including a Penn State researcher, demonstrates — for the first time — the use of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in kissing bugs and opens the door to research on applied strategies for Chagas disease control.

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Mar 14, 2024

St. Tammany's ditches are fouled with untreated sewage. The mosquitoes are loving it.

The pollution in drainage ditches in St. Tammany Parish appears to be allowing a disease-carrying mosquito to thrive, even after insecticide treatments

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Dec 07, 2023

USDA grant supports reproductive microbiome training program

The USDA NIFA has awarded Penn State a five-year, US$238,500 grant to establish a graduate training pipeline in reproductive microbiome research

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Dec 06, 2023

New USDA grant to support graduate reproductive microbiome training program

The USDA NIFA has awarded Penn State a five-year, $238,500 grant to establish a graduate training pipeline in reproductive microbiome research.

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Jul 07, 2023

Florida issues MALARIA alert as two MORE people catch deadly mosquito-born disease - in first US outbreak in two decades

Two more people have come down with malaria in southern Florida, health officials say — after doctors were warned to look out for more cases.

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Jun 29, 2023

Got a fever and testing negative for Covid? It could be MALARIA, CDC says - as disease-ridden mosquitos spread in US for first time in decades

Fever-stricken patients coming to hospitals should be checked for malaria, health officials say — even if they have not recently left the United States.

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Nov 08, 2022

Faculty in College of Ag Sciences recognized for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the college’s inaugural Research Awards Ceremony, held Oct. 25 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

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Jul 12, 2022

Rasgon named Huck Chair of Disease Epidemiology and Biotechnology

Jason Rasgon, professor of entomology and disease epidemiology, has been named Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Disease Epidemiology and Biotechnology.

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May 25, 2022

Injecting Cockroaches with CRISPR Gene Edits Their Offspring

A new method has allowed researchers to conduct the first gene knock-out and knock-in edits on cockroaches and may extend to many other insects.

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Mar 16, 2022

Huck Students Receive Alumni Awards

Two Huck IGDP students have been recognized as part of the 2021-22 Graduate School Alumni Association faculty and student awards in the Life & Health Sciences section.

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Feb 16, 2022

Scientists develop gene-editing tools that may decrease tick-borne disease

In May 2021, scientists released the first batch of genetically-altered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys as part of a project to combat disease-carrying insects.The mosquitoes, modified versions of the Aedes aegypti species, is associated with several diseases, including Zika and yellow fever. Experts say using modified insects to control populations provides an alternative to insecticides, which some mosquitoes are evolving to develop immunity towards.

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Feb 15, 2022

World’s first gene editing tools for ticks may help decrease tick-borne diseases

Reducing tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, may now be possible thanks to two new gene editing methods developed by researchers at Penn State; the University of Nevada, Reno; and the University of Maryland. The methods could allow scientists to alter parts of the tick genome that are involved in harboring and transmitting pathogens.

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Feb 17, 2021

Silencing the alarm

An enzyme in the saliva of certain insects prevents their food plants from warning neighboring plants of an attack.

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Sep 09, 2020

More dengue fever and less malaria – mosquito control strategies may need to shift as Africa heats up

As it becomes too warm for comfort, the Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit malaria may lose the battle against climate change in Africa. But a new foe is on the horizon.

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Aug 05, 2020

Gene-edited mosquitoes are ready for the U.S. — but is the U.S. ready for them?

In mid-June, Florida’s department of agriculture and consumer services approved a plan to release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild.

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Apr 23, 2020

Gene-editing protocol for whitefly pest opens door to control

Whiteflies are among the most important agricultural pests in the world, yet they have been difficult to genetically manipulate and control, in part, because of their small size. An international team of researchers has overcome this roadblock by developing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing protocol that could lead to novel control methods for this devastating pest.

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Sep 17, 2019

Study on DNA spread by genetically modified mosquitoes prompts backlash

For 10 years, the company Oxitec has been testing whether genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes can suppress populations of their natural brethren, which carry devastating viruses such as Zika and dengue. Its strategy: Deploy (nonbiting) male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes bearing a gene that should doom most of their offspring before adulthood.

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Aug 27, 2019

Graphene film promising for blocking mosquitoes

Health officials are touting a new protection against bloodsucking insects amid reports of a rare mosquito-borne disease that has infected four people in Massachusetts, killing one woman.

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Jan 31, 2019

Scientists Are Tweeting About The Strangest Experiments They've Ever Done

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