( while exposed to the mosquito's immune ...)K-State researchers study insects' immune system

"Insects are the most abundant kind of animal," he said. "They're very successful animals. If you want to understand biology, understanding insects is important.

"We're at a point now where we understand at least some of what the immune responses are but how they are regulated is a big question we need to study," Kanost said. "To me, one of the aspects that's interesting is even if we understand the immune system of one species of insect very well, there are millions of species of insects and they're all different from each other. Even though they will have some things in common, there's a lot to do for many lifetimes for people doing research on biochemistry in insects."

Researchers involved with the study include Maureen Gorman, research assistant professor in biochemistry, and Chansak Suwanchaichinda and Shufei Zhuang, both postdoctoral biochemistry research associates.

K-State students taking part in the research are Ana Fraire, junior in biochemistry and pre-medicine, Liberal; and Craig Doan, sophomore in biochemistry, Rose Ochieng, senior in biochemistry and pre-medicine, and Emily Ragan, graduate student in biochemistry, all of Manhattan.