Virginia Tech researchers conduct proof-of-concept study on mosquito’s scent preferences

Humans smell. Each and every person has a unique body odor.

People have been using commercial products to alter their scent for generations. From soaps to perfumes, people gravitate to floral and fruity smells.

Whether we think these smells are good or bad is of little consequence to mosquitoes, transmitters of diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people each year. Additionally, mosquitoes rely on plant nectar to get some sugars needed to sustain their metabolism in addition to needing nutrients in the blood to produce eggs.

Reference:

Morgen VanderGiessen, Anaïs K. Tallon, Bryn Damico, Chloé Lahondère, Clément Vinauger, (May 10, 2023), iScience, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106667