US researchers have succeeded in understanding how mosquitoes detect human odors. A step forward could be significant in order to produce new, more effective repellents.
An interesting path to fight mosquitoes. Researchers from Princeton University have been able to understand how these insects distinguish the scent of humans from the scent of other mammals.
Thanks to high-resolution images of the mosquito’s brain, they were able to determine the mechanism that allows them to detect these smells. One of their nerve centers, they have 60 in total, he tells them” Smells nearby, no matter which one According to the online media magazine Futura, which devotes an article to this topic. One of these nerve centers confirms, by isolating it, that it is indeed a human scent.
A new generation of insect repellents
What interests mosquitoes in the “fragrance” emitted by our species is limited to two compounds: decimal and illegitimate. American researchers He’s already patented a deca-containing mixture that they hope will lead to baits that lure mosquitoes into killer traps or repellents that cut their signals. »
For Reunion, which has been plagued by endemic dengue epidemics, developing a new method for preventing mosquito bites could represent real progress. Progress which, if proven to be effective, would make it possible to avoid the many inconveniences of the victims of this often exhausting disease.
