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POPSDiscovery of natural odors could help develop mosquito repellents "CO2 emitted in human breath is the main attractant for the Culex mosquito to find people, aiding the transmission of these deadly diseases," Ray said. "In our experiments we identified hexanol, and a related odor, butanal, as strong inhibitors of CO2-sensitive neurons in Culex mosquitoes. These compounds can now be used to guide research in developing novel repellents and masking agents that are economical and environmentally safe methods to block mosquitoes' ability to detect CO2 in our breath, thereby dramatically reducing mosquito-human contact." Woah, this is just great! This should be a great reason to celebrate, once thei're done with the repellent. I think there isn't one person in the planet who hasn't got mad with mosquitos at one time or another. Great news, just great.
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POPSNew mosquito repellant causes a buzz The chemical they found is related to the active ingredient in pepper. Looks like another example of where a chemical produced by nature can already do the job we want, it was just a matter of finding it. This new screening program looks like it will be able to filter through some of the billions of chemicals, produced naturally and the filter will improve as they learn to tell it what they want.
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POPSDEET messes with mosquito 'nose' Known as an insect repellent, Scientists were not sure how it worked until now. DEET does not so much repel mosquitoes and ticks which are attracted to carbon dioxide, and other human odors which give a signal that there is a blood supply somewhere, It masks these signals so the mosquitoes go and look for their blood supply somewhere else. DEET has been available to the to the public,for over 50 years and is an active ingredient in many insect repellents, but adverse health effects have been noted such as rashes and seizures, is toxic to some marine species. The risk of DEET side effects are generally rare and must be matched with the risk of mosquito borne disease. Advice is given to avoid using on broken skin, and to wash off if no longer needed. The standard warning on an insect repellent can. I've always found that any itch or sting from an insect repellent is better than the itch of a mosquito bite.
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POPS5 Things we do that attract mosquitoes...and how we can fight back
Like one of the researchers in the article, I am irresistible to mosquitoes. If there is a mosquito around it will home in on me rather than on other people. I'm popular at parties, as I draw all the mosquitoes away from the other guests! I have to wear mosquito repellent indoors and out, and even then they hover near me, looking for an unprotected blood vessel. Aye, 'tis a dubious honor to be so sought after! "Researchers have identified more than 300 chemical compounds that a human emits, chiefly from the skin, and they're trying to figure out which ones most influence mosquito behavior. Some claim they've isolated a few ingredients that appear to make us undetectable to mosquitoes. They're working to formulate them into a new way of protecting us from biting insects...The hope is to publish findings next year, then seek a manufacturer to license the discovery, develop and market a product. He envisions an aerosol device that would release cloaking compounds into the air."
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