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posted by chromas on Saturday March 30 2019, @06:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the blood,-sweat-&-tears dept.

Scientists Discover how Mosquitoes Zero in on our Sweat:

Just like fresh-baked cookies or sizzling bacon is to us, the scent of your sweat is a mouthwatering aroma to mosquitoes. Now, scientists have discovered how these undesirable insects zero in on our delectable odor.

It's actually the odor from lactic acid and other acidic volatiles found in human sweat that some mosquitoes are attracted to when seeking a blood meal. A team of researchers from the Laboratory of Tropical Genetics at Florida International University in Miami, has identified a unique olfactory receptor used to detect these odors in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are known to transmit dangerous and sometimes deadly diseases including yellow fever, dengue and Zika. The guilty receptor is known to scientists as Ionotropic Receptor 8a, or simply IR8a.

"People have been looking for more than 40 years," said FIU biologist Matthew DeGennaro, who leads the lab where the discovery was made. "Even in the 1960s, scientists knew it was sweat and lactic acid, but no one knew how those were sensed. Back then, mosquito scientists didn't have genetics."

[...] The FIU team's discovery could give rise to a new generation of attractants to lure adult mosquitoes to traps for population control. It also offers researchers a roadmap for making people invisible—at least to mosquitoes.

"Blocking the IR8a pathway could be an important strategy for repellent design," DeGennaro said.

[...] More information: Joshua I. Raji et al. Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Detect Acidic Volatiles Found in Human Odor Using the IR8a Pathway, Current Biology (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.045

Unable to locate a meal, they will be unable to lay eggs and will starve. How many species rely on mosquitoes for food?


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 30 2019, @04:30PM (2 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday March 30 2019, @04:30PM (#822399)

    Mosquito researchers have identified numerous compounds that attract certain mosquitoes at certain times...

    I ran a fancy mosquito trap in my yard for a few years, it burned propane to make heat and CO2, it also had chemical attractants - most of the time it caught very little during the month that the propane tank ran for, but once in a great while it would be overstuffed with mosquitoes in a single night. All in all, it didn't make a big difference in our quality of life.

    Oil/permethrin based foggers could clear the mosquitoes from the yard pretty effectively for about 6 hours after application (good for parties) but within 48 hours the population would return to normal.

    A good sized wood fire would also reduce the number of biting mosquitoes in the yard by about 90-95%, I don't know if it was the heat or CO2 from the fire that got them, but after several years of fighting with the trap and fogger I finally settled on the bonfire as our mosquito control measure of choice.

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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 31 2019, @02:10AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 31 2019, @02:10AM (#822576)

    Another thing that kind of works is a fan. Mosquitos can't fly for shit so if you put a gentle airflow through the area they can't land.

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday March 31 2019, @01:08PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Sunday March 31 2019, @01:08PM (#822708)

      I had one of those fans with a net bag on it by the front door help to keep the front door area clear so that you wouldn't suck mosquitoes in the house every time you open it.

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