Of the scientists have just discovered how mosquitoes might “smell” and detect humans so well, to sting them. In a study published in the scientific journal Cellthey explain that these insects have a more complex olfactory system than some others animals. They are thus able to detect body heat and have receptors in their antennae. Then it is the brain that will process the accumulated information, in a certain way.
“We found a real difference in how mosquitoes encode the smells they encounter, compared to what we knew regarding other animals,” explained the Guardian Meg Younger, assistant professor of biology at Boston University and researcher of the study.
Multiple Receivers
The scientists found that “different receptors respond to different odors in the same neuron” of the insect. Thus, mosquitoes can continue to smell odors even when some receptors are lost. According to researchers at Rockefeller University in New Yorkmosquitoes might still smell humans, even following modifying their genome.
Better protection once morest diseases
These discoveries make it possible to better understand these insects but can also advance research on protection once morest bites. In addition to itching and irritation, some specimens can transmit serious illnesses such as dengue fever or malaria, Zika where the Chikungunya.
It is, according to Dr Marta Andres Miguel, of University College London, a “remarkable discovery, not only from a biological point of view, but also in the fight once morest disease”. New traps or repellents might soon be developed.
