New mosquito trap smart enough to keep just the bad bugs

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Source:  By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press

Excerpt: WASHINGTON (AP) — A smart trap for mosquitoes? ...robotic traps were pilot-tested around Houston last summer, they accurately captured particular mosquito species — those capable of spreading the Zika virus and certain other diseases — that health officials wanted to track, researchers reported Thursday. ...[Ethan] Jackson's trap consists of 64 "smart cells," compartments outfitted with an infrared light beam. When an insect crosses the beam, its shadow changes the light intensity in a way that forms almost a fingerprint for that species, Jackson [Microsoft lead researcher] said. [editor's note: this is similar to the transit method of finding exoplanets] Program the trap for the desired species — such as the Aedes aegypti mosquito that is the main Zika threat — and when one flies into a cell, its door snaps closed. In pilot testing in Harris County, Texas, last July and August, the trap was more than 90 percent accurate in identifying the insect buzzing through the door, Jackson said....

http://bigstory.ap.org/3dfc9195e9dd423ba3f7ed38f0150515

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