Bug Off! Scientists Develop Mosquito That Can't Smell People
Does anybody really like mosquitos? Sure, we all know they’re a vital part of the environment and the delicate ecosystem would collapse without them — but come on. They let out that piercing buzzing sound, they fly in your eyes while you’re trying to enjoy the great outdoors, and the bites. We can’t even express how irritating mosquito bites are, even if you don’t count the dangerous diseases they can carry. Zika, anyone? But like humidity and sunburn, mosquitoes and mosquito bites have always been an inevitable downside to the summer season — until now.
According to a study published in Nature Magazine, scientists are working on creating a mosquito unable to sniff out humans for consumption. You see, mosquitoes typically hunt any warm-blooded animal they can find, with no regard for their victims. But the little bloodsuckers are most attracted to the smell of humans, which is the equivalent for them that a mouth-watering whiff of cheeseburger is to us.
“[Mosquitoes] love everything about us,” neurobiologist and study leader Leslie Vosshall said in an interview with Nature. “They love our beautiful body odour, they love the carbon monoxide we exhale and they love our body heat.” Yep...that's kind of creepy.
The new genetically modified mosquitoes couldn’t smell the difference between us humans (mosquito cheeseburgers) and other warm-blooded animals (mosquito baloney sandwiches). That means that while they can locate an animal, they won’t be able to identify its species. Theoretically, this would serve as something of an equalizer in the great summer mosquito wars. While the little bloodsuckers would know there was food, they would not be sure what flavor was being offered up and thus keep them from choosing to chow down on the closest human over any less appealing dining options.
These Franken-mosquitoes have another appealing factor: It seems they are unable to smell the popular insect repellent DEET. While the mosquitoes didn’t fly away from people sprayed with DEET, their dinner plans were still put on hold; direct contact with the product led the insects to leave without consuming their meal. This has led scientists to believe that something beyond the smell of DEET is repelling to them. If we could find out, we could develop an entirely new way to keep mosquitoes from coming after us.
“It’s unbelievable to me that people have been spraying DEET on skin for upwards of 60 years,” Vosshall said. “We don’t have any clear idea of how or why it works, and that as a scientist just drives me crazy.”
So while these genetically engineered flying vampire bugs still enjoy the taste of humans, they might have a harder time finding us. But don’t expect to see these modified mosquitoes swarming around anytime soon. Scientists aren’t sure how the insects would react outside of laboratory conditions, or if they could even survive and spread their mutated genes to the overall mosquito population.
For those of us tired of slathering on gallons of insect repellent every year, these are positive developments. But until what scientists figure out in the lab finds its way to our backyard, we're going to stock up on that bug spray — it’s going to be a long summer.
[Pic via Flickr - dr_relling]
