Love voles and Buruli ulcer mozzies

Lost in Science

This week, Catriona celebrates Valentine's Day the science way, showing what research on monogamous prairie voles can tell us about how hormones like dopamine and vasopressin affect our craving for love and affection; and Chris shares new research that suggests the bacteria that causes Buruli ulcer is spread between possums and humans by mosquitoes, and how to protect yourself from it.Lim et al. 2004, Enhanced partner preference in a promiscuous species by manipulating the expression of a single gene, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02539Amadei et al. 2017, Dynamic corticostriatal activity biases social bonding in monogamous female prairie voles, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22381Pierce et al. 2024, Nucleus accumbens dopamine release reflects the selective nature of pair bonds, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.041Mee et al. 2024, Mosquitoes provide a transmission route between possums and humans for Buruli ulcer in southeastern Australia, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01553-1