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posted by martyb on Thursday August 01 2019, @01:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the sweeter-sweaters dept.

A team of engineers from the University of Minho in Portugal have developed two ways to modify cotton fabric so that it lets off a citronella aroma when it comes in contact with sweat. Their methods for using sweat against itself are outlined in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

The scientists used a protein found in pigs' noses (yes, hog snouts could be the key to sweet-smelling sweat) that binds to scent molecules. They also attached what's known as a carbohydrate-binding module, which binds to cotton. They used a second method involving fat-like liposomes rather than proteins to bind the pleasant scent to the fabric.

The tweaked cottons released the citronella scent when they came in contact with an acidic sweat solution. The pig nose protein-treated fabric emitted a "quick burst of scent," while the liposomes cleared the air with a slower, more controlled release.

[...] As a bonus, citronella is also a popular insect repellent. Keeping both the mosquitoes and bad body odor away could soon be as simple as reeling off 50 quick jumping jacks.


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  • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Thursday August 01 2019, @04:56PM (3 children)

    by nitehawk214 (1304) on Thursday August 01 2019, @04:56PM (#874138)

    Also, who enjoys citronella? At best it is a "necessary to avoid mosquitos". Now that I am learning that it isn't all that effective, it makes me hate it even more.

    Its more like "citronella reminds me of camping and outdoors therefore I enjoy it". If they had any effect, it was counteracted by the light from the candle attracting more insects.

    The smoke from my charcoal grill is more effective than those stupid candles. (it does attract hungry humans, however)

    Also I would like to point out the graphic in that sciencemag article has a caption of "human bait", which i find amusing.

    --
    "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 01 2019, @05:03PM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday August 01 2019, @05:03PM (#874143) Journal

    I don't mind the smell, particularly of (what I thought was) the live "citronella" plant [wikipedia.org].

    But:

    Pelargonium 'citrosum' is marketed as "mosquito plant" or "citrosa geranium" in stores in the United States and Canada, even though research from the University of Guelph indicates the plant is ineffective against Aedes aegypti mosquitos. "Not only was the plant ineffective at protecting humans against Aedes mosquito bites, the mosquitoes were seen landing and resting on the citrosa plant on a regular basis."

    [...] The citronella geranium is not to be confused with others that are also called "mosquito plant", nor with the group of plants also known as citronella grass, or with Citronella mucronata (Chilean Citronella).

    https://www.gardenmyths.com/citronella-plant-keeps-mosquitoes-away/ [gardenmyths.com]

    Screw it all. I want a future version of that mosquito-killing laser system [wikipedia.org].

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    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Thursday August 01 2019, @06:54PM

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Thursday August 01 2019, @06:54PM (#874180)

      Regardless of effectiveness and scent, I would prefer the laser defense from a coolness factor.

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 01 2019, @09:52PM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 01 2019, @09:52PM (#874284) Journal

      mosquito-killing laser system

      Wait until the mosquitos develop resistance against it! (grin)

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      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford