Everyone knows mosquitoes have a taste for blood, but did you know they have an even bigger sweet tooth? Mosquitoes love sugar. Just as humans are drawn to the sweet smell of a chocolate shop or bakery, mosquitoes find the smell of sugar irresistible. All mosquitoes need sugar to survive. Female mosquitoes consume blood to lay eggs, but both male and female mosquitoes require sugar for energy. In fact, even though mosquitoes buzzing in your ears may appear single-minded about biting you, they need sugar more often than they need blood. Exploiting this craving, researchers have...… Everyone knows mosquitoes have a taste for blood, but did you know they have an even bigger sweet tooth? Mosquitoes love sugar. Just as humans are drawn to the sweet smell of a chocolate shop or bakery, mosquitoes find the smell of sugar irresistible. All mosquitoes need sugar to survive. Female mosquitoes consume blood to lay eggs, but both male and female mosquitoes require sugar for energy. In fact, even though mosquitoes buzzing in your ears may appear single-minded about biting you, they need sugar more often than they need blood. Exploiting this craving, researchers have...WW…

Are you a mosquito magnet? If you don’t seem to get your unfair share of mosquito bites every summer, chances are you know someone who does. Some people are just more attractive to the pests than others. The reason why is probably how you smell. Mosquitoes rely on their sense of smell to find their targets, and they’re drawn to certain odors naturally produced by the human body. Although some people may be a little more attractive, the unfortunate truth is that we all smell like a delicious meal to mosquitoes. You can hide yourself for a while using a bug spray like DEET or...… Are you a mosquito magnet? If you don’t seem to get your unfair share of mosquito bites every summer, chances are you know someone who does. Some people are just more attractive to the pests than others. The reason why is probably how you smell. Mosquitoes rely on their sense of smell to find their targets, and they’re drawn to certain odors naturally produced by the human body. Although some people may be a little more attractive, the unfortunate truth is that we all smell like a delicious meal to mosquitoes. You can hide yourself for a while using a bug spray like DEET or...WW…

Throughout my career, I’ve been lucky to give two commencement speeches: one to Harvard—the alma mater I never graduated from—in 2007, and another to Stanford in 2014. Today, I delivered my third to the forestry and engineering graduates of Northern Arizona University. (You can read more about what drew me to NAU here.) The class of 2023 is no ordinary group of graduates. Before most of them completed their first year of college, a once-in-a-generation pandemic came along and changed life—and learning—as we knew it. It took resilience, grit, and a whole lot of ingenuity for them...… Throughout my career, I’ve been lucky to give two commencement speeches: one to Harvard—the alma mater I never graduated from—in 2007, and another to Stanford in 2014. Today, I delivered my third to the forestry and engineering graduates of Northern Arizona University. (You can read more about what drew me to NAU here.) The class of 2023 is no ordinary group of graduates. Before most of them completed their first year of college, a once-in-a-generation pandemic came along and changed life—and learning—as we knew it. It took resilience, grit, and a whole lot of ingenuity for them...WW…

Unconfuse Me with Bill Gates Can AI help close the education gap? Sal Khan thinks so In the second episode of my new podcast, I sat down with the founder of Khan Academy to talk about how artificial intelligence will transform education. By Bill Gates | Sal Khan is a true pioneer of harnessing the power of technology to help kids learn. So, when I wanted to learn more about how...… Unconfuse Me with Bill Gates Can AI help close the education gap? Sal Khan thinks so In the second episode of my new podcast, I sat down with the founder of Khan Academy to talk about how artificial intelligence will transform education. By Bill Gates | Sal Khan is a true pioneer of harnessing the power of technology to help kids learn. So, when I wanted to learn more about how...WW…

Become a Gates Notes Insider Join the Gates Notes community to get regular updates from Bill on key topics like global health and climate change, to access exclusive content, comment on stories, participate in giveaways, and more. Already joined? Log in…Become a Gates Notes Insider Join the Gates Notes community to get regular updates from Bill on key topics like global health and climate change, to access exclusive content, comment on stories, participate in giveaways, and more. Already joined? Log inWW…

A big threat to malaria eradication Climate change could stall the world’s amazing progress on health. By Bill Gates | It’s mind-blowing how much health has improved for the world’s poorest people over the past two decades. Malaria deaths, for example, have dropped by more than a third. Eradicating the disease has become a realistic goal. Unfortunately, climate change threatens to...… A big threat to malaria eradication Climate change could stall the world’s amazing progress on health. By Bill Gates | It’s mind-blowing how much health has improved for the world’s poorest people over the past two decades. Malaria deaths, for example, have dropped by more than a third. Eradicating the disease has become a realistic goal. Unfortunately, climate change threatens to...WW…

Whenever I travel to rural parts of the world, the farmers I meet talk about one thing that holds them back: they can’t save their money. They don’t mean they spend more than they earn. They mean that, literally, they don’t have a safe place to put their money, since 235 million of the world’s farmers don’t have banks. Storing it at home is risky. Your house could catch on fire or be swept away in a flood—or someone could break in and steal all of your savings. For many poor smallholder farmers, the solution is simple: you don’t save at all. If you don’t have a safe place to...… Whenever I travel to rural parts of the world, the farmers I meet talk about one thing that holds them back: they can’t save their money. They don’t mean they spend more than they earn. They mean that, literally, they don’t have a safe place to put their money, since 235 million of the world’s farmers don’t have banks. Storing it at home is risky. Your house could catch on fire or be swept away in a flood—or someone could break in and steal all of your savings. For many poor smallholder farmers, the solution is simple: you don’t save at all. If you don’t have a safe place to...WW…

If you follow the news on climate change (and maybe even if you don’t), your news feed has probably been filled with the acronym COP lately. That’s the Conference of Parties, the United Nations’ annual meeting on climate change. This year’s event, COP28, which starts at the end of this week, is an especially important one, and I’ll be traveling to Dubai in a few days to attend. In all of my speeches, panels, and meetings, I’ll share the same messages: Because of a boom in climate-related innovation that started at the Paris COP in 2015, there’s more reason to be optimistic...… If you follow the news on climate change (and maybe even if you don’t), your news feed has probably been filled with the acronym COP lately. That’s the Conference of Parties, the United Nations’ annual meeting on climate change. This year’s event, COP28, which starts at the end of this week, is an especially important one, and I’ll be traveling to Dubai in a few days to attend. In all of my speeches, panels, and meetings, I’ll share the same messages: Because of a boom in climate-related innovation that started at the Paris COP in 2015, there’s more reason to be optimistic...WW…

I’ve been a big fan of Brazil for a while. I first visited back in 1995 when Microsoft was building out our operations there, including working with one of the national banks to launch home banking. And some of my favorite family trips have been to the Amazon, whose river, basin, and rainforest come up often during conversations on climate change. But it wasn’t until I began working in public health that I started appreciating just how impressive the country’s track record in this area is—and how much the rest of the world could learn from it. In roughly three decades, Brazil...… I’ve been a big fan of Brazil for a while. I first visited back in 1995 when Microsoft was building out our operations there, including working with one of the national banks to launch home banking. And some of my favorite family trips have been to the Amazon, whose river, basin, and rainforest come up often during conversations on climate change. But it wasn’t until I began working in public health that I started appreciating just how impressive the country’s track record in this area is—and how much the rest of the world could learn from it. In roughly three decades, Brazil...WW…

The risks created by artificial intelligence can seem overwhelming. What happens to people who lose their jobs to an intelligent machine? Could AI affect the results of an election? What if a future AI decides it doesn’t need humans anymore and wants to get rid of us? These are all fair questions, and the concerns they raise need to be taken seriously. But there’s a good reason to think that we can deal with them: This is not the first time a major innovation has introduced new threats that had to be controlled. We’ve done it before. Whether it was the introduction of cars or...… The risks created by artificial intelligence can seem overwhelming. What happens to people who lose their jobs to an intelligent machine? Could AI affect the results of an election? What if a future AI decides it doesn’t need humans anymore and wants to get rid of us? These are all fair questions, and the concerns they raise need to be taken seriously. But there’s a good reason to think that we can deal with them: This is not the first time a major innovation has introduced new threats that had to be controlled. We’ve done it before. Whether it was the introduction of cars or...WW…