How mosquitoes sniff out human sweat

By understanding the mechanisms at work, we can block them.

Bryan Nelson

Aedes aegypti, a common vector of dengue fever and yellow fever. (Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim/Wiki Commons)

Understanding how mosquitoes sniff out their prey is crucial to understanding how to better defend against them. With this in mind, geneticists at Florida International University in Miami have zeroed in on a key protein found in some mosquito antennae that seems essential to these bloodsuckers’ ability to locate human hosts, reports Science News.

Researchers looked specifically at Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are responsible for the spread of Zika and dengue fever. These bugs also tend to prefer human blood over any other animal, so they’re particularly pesky…