Now Reading: Mosquitoes pick favourite humans using scent and body heat
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Mosquitoes pick favourite humans using scent and body heat
Mosquitoes are picky biters, and science has decoded their dating app. They track carbon dioxide from breath, body heat, and especially a person's unique skin scent. A 2023 study in Current Biology…
The Story in Brief
Mosquitoes are picky biters, and science has decoded their dating app. They track carbon dioxide from breath, body heat, and especially a person's unique skin scent. A 2023 study in Current Biology found they use CO₂ as long-range GPS to find humans. Pregnant women and adults attract more bites because they produce more heat and carbon dioxide than children do.
Most critically, a Rockefeller University study of 64 people showed that skin scents rich in carboxylic acid are irresistible. That preference persists for years. Only female mosquitoes bite, needing blood proteins to lay eggs every four days. Their hunting is not random but a precise cascade of chemical and thermal cues.
The Indian Opinion
The common lament 'mosquitoes love me' now has a lab coat on it. But the real news here is not just personal relief for the unlucky few. The Rockefeller finding that carboxylic-acid-rich scents stay attractive for years is a hard target for repellent makers. No more blaming beer or blood type. The concrete test will be a cheap, wearable patch that masks those acids. Until then, a simple question remains: why is global funding for mosquito control still far lower than the disease burden these insects cause?
Source: deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
