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Smell of CO2 Boosts Mosquitoes' Ability to Visually Track Targets

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday July 24 2019, @06:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the odourless-scents dept.
Science

An Anonymous Coward writes:

From New Atlas

In order to better trap or evade malaria-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, it helps if we know more about the manner in which they track their victims. New research now indicates that it's a matter not just of smell, but also enhanced visual processing that's triggered by smell.

It's long been known that – among other things – mosquitoes are attracted to the odor of the carbon dioxide which we exhale. A team of Virginia Tech scientists, however, wondered if there was more to it than that. Led by Asst. Prof. Clément Vinauger, they built a sort of "flight simulator" for mosquitoes in order to find out.

[...] "Analyzing how mosquitoes process information is crucial to figuring out how to create better baits and traps for mosquito control," says Vinauger. "My research aims at closing the key knowledge gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms that allow mosquitoes to be such efficient disease vectors and, more specifically, to identify and characterize factors that modulate their host-seeking behavior."

A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Current Biology.

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  • (Score: 1) by nekomata on Wednesday July 24 2019, @08:18AM (3 children)

    by nekomata (5432) on Wednesday July 24 2019, @08:18AM (#870603)

    Despite the danger of fan death I have time and time again noticed that the number of mosquito bites massively drops if I have one running during the night. Even on the slowest setting (anything more is too loud anyway). And given that the fan oscillates it seems unlikely that the wind movement itself would stop the little fuckers from landing on me. Can recommend, at least for the very benign mosquitos that we have in central Europe.

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday July 24 2019, @11:24AM (2 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 24 2019, @11:24AM (#870616) Journal

      Despite the danger of fan death

      ...wot?...
      Oh, fuck, idiotic as it may be, seems that it is actually something [wikipedia.org]

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

      • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday July 24 2019, @04:43PM (1 child)

        by Freeman (732) on Wednesday July 24 2019, @04:43PM (#870742) Journal

        Asphyxiation
        It is alleged that fans may cause asphyxiation by oxygen displacement and carbon dioxide intoxication.[10][11][12][13] In the process of human respiration, inhaled fresh air is exhaled with a lower concentration of oxygen gas (O2) and higher concentration of carbon dioxide gas (CO2), causing a gradual reduction of O2 and buildup of CO2 in a completely unventilated room.[14] This phenomenon is unrelated to the presence or absence of a fan.

        Solution, make sure your room / house / place you live, has adequate fresh air circulation.

        --
        Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"

        • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday July 24 2019, @04:47PM

          by Freeman (732) on Wednesday July 24 2019, @04:47PM (#870746) Journal

          Blowing hot air on you, apparently accelerates the onset of heat exhaustion, instead of helping prevent heat exhaustion.

          Hyperthermia (heat stress)

          Air movement will increase sweat evaporation, which cools the body. But in extreme heat – when the blown air is warmer than the body's temperature – it will increase the heat stress placed on the body, potentially speeding the onset of heat exhaustion and other detrimental conditions. The American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discourages people from using fans in closed rooms without ventilation when the heat index is above 32 °C (90 °F). The EPA does, however, approve of using a fan if a window is open and it is cooler outside, or when the heat index in a closed room is lower.[9]

          --
          Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 24 2019, @05:29PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 24 2019, @05:29PM (#870766)

    wow, meticulous freaking setup and experiment.
    it's good they do things like this 'cause i was starting to believe them damn mosquitoes can teleport.
    they seem to randomly pop up in closed rooms and seem to vanish between two quickly approaching palms...

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