The Ability of Mosquitoes to Track Human Odor
Mosquitoes are constantly craving blood. They have a very sensitive sense of smell that helps them track human odor. Preventive repellents are starting to fail as the ability of the mosquitoes to track human odor is able to work around the repellents. The nerve cells in mosquitoes are different from those of other animals. In animals, one nerve cell detects one odor. However, in mosquitoes, the failure of a nerve cell would mean it would not be able to pick up on one human odor but rather still be able to detect other odors. Researchers are working to find a way to stop mosquitoes from picking up on human scents since preventative repellents are starting to backfire. Possible solutions to repellents were that instead of creating a repellent to human scent, a repellent made with a scent that mosquitoes despise might cause it to flee away. Mosquitoes spread viruses such as dengue and Zika, which is why it is critical to understand mosquitoes better in order to prevent them from tracking human odor.
Mosquitoes can smell the carbon dioxide released from an individual's mouth. They can detect it by using their antennae and small appendages near their mouth. They also use body heat to help locate humans. Researchers put fluorescent labels onto the neurons of mosquitoes to help learn how their brains work when detecting human scents. What they found was that the neurons of mosquitoes were similar to sensory hubs rather than a sensor in each nerve cell that they found. It was also found that some of the nerve cells contained multiple sensors. The neurons were found to pick up on more than one odor, and the cells would signal in response to chemicals found in humans such as octanol and triethylamine.
Further research conveyed that other insects may also have the same type of olfactory mechanism as mosquitoes. Researchers are currently looking at and trying to figure out why exactly mosquitoes have several different ways to detect humans and what benefit that might have on the mosquitoes. They believe that it is possible to detect any human at all, regardless of what type of chemical the individual may be emitting. Ongoing research looking at the olfactory mechanism and neurons of mosquitoes is still being looked at to learn more about how it works and how they are able to pick up many different odors.
Posted by: Haya Usmani (3)
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mosquito-smell-humans-odor-aedes-aegypti
This is super cool research! I would love to know how they are conducting neuron testing and other experiments on mosquitos since they are so tiny. It's very cool to learn about the different approaches scientists are taking to solve different problems- there are always so many angles that can be looked at.
ReplyDeleteHi Ila! I was also curious about that aspect, mosquitoes are incredibly small its hard to think that any procedures could be done to study their neurons. However, to conduct neuron testing the researchers used fluorescent labels on the nerve cells of mosquitoes and studied how they worked when they processed odor.
Delete^^above comment by Ila Bedenkop
ReplyDeleteHello Haya! This was such an interesting and brief read that immediately grabbed my attention. I was completely unaware that mosquitos were able to smell or detect the carbon dioxide released from our mouth. This olfactory mechanism seems to be so complex and interesting. I wonder what other animals may have similar olfactory mechanism?
ReplyDelete-Adyelis M. Colon Martinez
Hi Adyelis! I found that fact very interesting too! I thought they primarily were able to smell blood but it seems like they have a variety of odor smelling abilities to track human. In the article researchers found that other insects may also have the same odor mechanism as mosquitoes, after doing a separate study on fruit flies.
DeleteThis definitely seems like a complex issue to solve due to the mosquito's ability to detect humans odor so well but nonetheless very necessary to research due to some of the harmful diseases that they carry. I'm wondering if there are other effective ways to repel mosquitos and trick their neurological system but it most likely will take lots of time and research.
ReplyDeleteHi Chloe! I agree it is a very complex issue researchers are trying to solve to prevent this advanced method mosquitoes have to track humans. Currently researchers are testing different methods like creating alternative repellants and creating and looking at what scents mosquitoes despise.
DeleteI never knew that mosquitos were able to detect humans due to the carbon dioxide released from our mouths! I think it's interesting to consider that mosquitos have such strong olfactory mechanisms that allow them to smell humans even when they have repellents on. This research is also necessary due to diseases that can be spread by mosquitos.
ReplyDelete- Ritika Koirala
Hi Ritika! I found that interesting too, I had not previously known about the mechanisms mosquitoes use to track humans. This is critical because mosquitoes carry deadly diseases and with a advanced sense of tracking, ways to prevent them from tracking human odor should be looked at more closely.
DeleteMosquitoes are also an issue of genetics. I took a 23 and me test and my results came back saying that I am more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes than individuals with different DNA. Could this be because of blood type? It didn’t give me much more information than that. I am bitten by mosquitoes so much during the summer, more than anyone I know, so the results may be true. Do you think a person’s genetics make the repellents work more or less? If so, how will they combat this?
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth! That's an interesting thing to think about. I do know that genetics can lead you to inherit genes that may allow you to become a mosquito magnet. Currently I don't think a persons genetics and repellent has been looked at much, but it is an important thing to think about when it comes to preventing mosquitoes from tracking us.
ReplyDelete