New discovery to stop mosquito bites

Mosquitoes do, in short, heat, carbon dioxide and sweat, but exactly which part of their sense of smell that recognize human sweat has until now been unclear. Scientists have previously been able to knock out one of the luktsinnets two major parts without results, but now, it has managed to beat out even the other and it has been great effect, evidenced by a study published in Current Biology.

" There is a gene called ir8a and as needed to other ir genes to work. When we struck out the reduced businesses ability to find people radically, with about 50 per cent, " says Marcus Stensmyr, senior lecturer at the biological department at the university of Lund and together with her colleague Nadia Melo is part of the international team behind the discovery.

controlled by the gene ir25a, which Stensmyr say has a more mysterious function. The next step in the research project is to knock out the well and the hope is then that the mosquitoes lose their appetite on people altogether.

mosquitoes dislike about us is volatile fatty acids, which to us smells like French cheese, but something more must be. Citronelal, DEET, and other things that are available in the insect repellent makes the insects think it smells bad, but what we are aiming at is something that they do not feel the smell at all and therefore becomes more effective, " says Marcus Stensmyr.

the Mosquito they studied is gulafebernmyggan (Aedes aegypti), but also on the hundreds of millions of years, can distinguish the earth's mosquitoes are in the system with the ir8a gene is a so basic function to the planned topic to beat out there also in Swedish mosquitoes.