How do mosquitoes find humans so easily? | | Smart News

Anyone who has ever experienced subtle pain mosquito bites And that sharp slap in the affected area probably made you wonder: Why are mosquitoes so good at chasing down humans? manyready to suck the nutrient-rich blood from its next victim.

A new study offers a possible explanation: Mosquitoes have a highly sophisticated olfactory system that gives them a supernatural ability to smell. paper was published in a magazine last week cell.

For decades, scientists believed that an animal’s sense of smell functioned in a fairly rudimentary way: each sensory neuron that carries information picks up a particular odor and relays that data to the brain. Different types of these neurons can be combined to discriminate more complex odors, but each neuron has only one receptor for a particular odor.

With this in mind, researchers gene editing technology To keep pesky insects from sniffing out humans.They disabled specific human odor receptors in sensory neurons in female antennae egyptian temple mosquito. (Because the sting relies on blood, only female mosquitoes bite. nourish the eggs.)

Scientists expected these tweaks to interfere with neurons’ ability to detect body odors in humans and pass that information on to the brain. However, when they exposed the mosquitoes to human scents and analyzed their neural activity, they noticed that the mosquitoes still sniffed.

To find out why, they took a closer look at neurons through RNA sequencing. They found that a single olfactory sensory neuron may contain multiple receptors, not just one as previously assumed. This means that if one of the human odor receptors isn’t working for some reason, the bug has a backup.

Researchers also don’t know why mosquitoes’ olfactory systems have this redundancy built into them, but one possible reason is that the vast variety of genes they can encounter when searching for blood It may be in the smell.

“People smell very differently,” he says. Meg YoungerA neurobiologist at Boston University and one of the study’s authors, science news“Erin García de Jesús. ‘Maybe this is the setup for finding humans regardless of what kind of body odor they emit.'”

Scientists are working hard to understand how mosquitoes find their prey. responsible for taking over Dengue, Zika, West Nile, yellow fever, malaria, chikungunya and many other pathogens dangerous to humans.mosquitoes worst animal on earth, Over 700,000 dead It causes millions of preventable diseases each year.

“They really are the ultimate predator,” says Omar Akbari, a biologist at the University of California, San Diego. Atlanticof Catherine J. Wu. “There is not a single person on earth who has never been bitten.”

This new study reveals that editing genes associated with insect odors is likely not an effective way to stop insects. , suggesting that attention and resources should be directed to other methods, such as creating better traps and repellents. not out Mosquito offspring become non-biting males.

As Christopher PotterA biologist at Johns Hopkins Medical School, he said he was not involved in the study. new scientistAccording to Corryn Wetzel of , these and other related studies “change the dogma of what we thought we knew about the olfactory system.”

Recommended videos

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos