Infecting mosquitoes with a common bacterial parasite can reduce the likelihood that they will transmit dengue and other diseases. Once a mosquito encounters dengue or malaria, it takes roughly two weeks of incubation(潜伏、孵化)before the insect can spread that pathogen(病原体). Using a strain(系統)of Wolbachia - a common fruit fly parasite - known to halve the lifespan of its hosts, researchers were able to cut short the lives of infected mosquitoes. The mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia lived long enough to reproduce and spread the parasite to their young but died before they were capable of transmitting dengue.