Fight Mosquitoes with their own Super Power

Mosquitoes are attracted to us when we sweat. These bothersome, disease spreading pests find our perspiring bodies irresistible, so if you’re someone who is quite active, you may find that your daily run is doing wonders for your fitness, but not so much for your ability to hide from mosquitoes. However, scientists have used their powerful sense of smell to fight against them.

Ingenious Brazillian billboards use fake sweat to attract and kill zika-carrying mosquitoes

Advertising agencies NBS and Posterscope, designed and built the signs, which slowly release lactic acid and carbon dioxide from canisters stored inside, mimicking human sweat and breath respectively. The designers say this cocktail will attract mosquitoes from as far as 2.5 miles.

These critters are clever, however this is an ingenious way of attracting them to their fate.

So how can we take mosquito ‘technology’ (by this, we mean taking their most powerful tool) and using it to our advantage? This robot, as the article describes, could use this technology to assist in vital roles when it comes to search and rescue in disaster scenarios. Read more about it here…

Mosquito Protein Sensor Can ‘Smell’ Human Sweat 

Researchers in Japan have developed a sweat detecting sensor that uses an olfactory receptor found in mosquitoes. Such applications of the sensor may one day play a vital role in search and rescue operations during disasters. The team aims to develop practical applications for the sensor that will help rescuers search for the missing in disasters and other situations when visual confirmation is difficult.

Mosquito control is continually developing, and if we can fight these bloodsuckers with their own superpower, and use it against them, then we could be well be on the way to taking out the real villains.