Understanding how mosquitoes smell humans could save thousands of lives
Of the more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes in the world, just a small number have evolved to specialize in sucking human blood.
How human-biting mosquitoes track us down so effectively isn't currently known, but it matters, since they don't just make us itch. They also carry dangerous diseases such as Zika, dengue, West Nile virus and malaria that can be deadly. In fact, stopping these pesky insects in their tracks could save up to half a million lives lost to those diseases each year.
"Have it blow air over where you're sitting outside or over the barbecue or under the table where they're biting your feet." It's not that you're blowing the scent around to knock the mosquitoes off track, she said. It's simply because these deadly creatures, McBride said,"are not great fliers.
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