NSF Reports on New Mosquito Repellant Just in time for Summer

As summer approaches, mosquitoes begin to become a bigger nuisance across the country, ready to spoils summer camping trips, family outings and other outdoor summer activities, especially after dark. A new mosquito repellent may provide some excellent protection from mosquitoes according to a recent report from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The report is based on some research performed in labs at Vanderbilt University. According to the research, the new mosquito repellant works very well by overwhelming the odor sensors of the mosquitoes, in effect, scaring them away.

While mosquitoes are a large nuisance in the U.S., they pose a much greater health threat in other parts of the world where the insects still spread often fatal diseases like malaria. Therefore the new research and the new mosquito repellent has the potential to be a live saving measure.

The variety of mosquitoes used as test subjects in the research were in fact Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes which are known disease spreading killers from Central Africa.
“These are Anopheles mosquitoes that still think that they’re in Central Africa. We won’t tell them any different,” says Laurence Zwiebel, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology.

Smell appears to be the largest factor which draws mosquitoes to their human targets. Microscopic odor receptors, the size of tiny microscopic hairs on the mosquito’s antennae are how the mosquitoes target us. “A mosquito can smell you and me from a very long distance and can track its way to you based on odor plumes that we’re giving off,” explains vector biologist Jason Pitts.

While the research still continues toward determining exactly which of the compounds that our bodies give off is the biggest draw for the mosquitoes, there appear to be a number which we produce in out sweat unlike many other animals. Researchers in the survey say that our bodies emit compounds, which define the “human signature” including carbon dioxide, ammonia, and lactic acid.

To put an old wives tale to rest, the researchers have confirmed that only female mosquitoes bite, drinking up to their weight in blood in a single bite. The female mosquitoes use the blood as part of reproduction to make eggs.

A new set of chemicals which the research team has identified are able to target the odor receptors of the mosquitoes. Using a large number of powerful odors from the compounds, the researchers say that they could be able to create extremely effective mosquito repellents which basically scare them away.