Of the more than 3,000 mosquito species, most are not very picky. But there are some that stand out almost exclusively people. These transmitted diseases such as Zika, Malaria and Dengue fever. The researcher, Carolyn McBride was devoted to the question: How and why are mosquitoes of the people attracted to?

McBride and her Team are investigating how the brain and genome of mosquitoes have evolved to specialize on humans – and like us so effectively from other mammals may differ. First, she examined how mosquitoes perceive complex odors, because of the human smell is made up of more than 100 different Compounds that are in slightly different conditions, in the majority of mammals are present.

To test the odor-preference of the mosquitoes, were in the laboratory, a "Guinea Pig-Parfum" produced by air blown over your body, and collected. This is presented to the mosquitoes along with a human Arm: "People specialized mosquito select in 90 to 95 percent of the cases, the Arm", so McBride. In other Tests, with seven volunteers, they found that some of the people were for the mosquito-attractive than others. Then the researchers analyzed which of the Compounds in which conditions in humans and Guinea pigs, the typical odour measurement: "None of these chemicals is for mosquitoes, so mosquitoes must recognize the relationship, the exact mixture of the components, the ausmacht&quot the human smell;, McBride said.

The scientists studied the mosquitoes, among other things, the Dengue fever, Zika and yellow fever is transmitted. The Carriers of the West Nile Virus is less specialized in people, so that he can transmit the Virus from birds to people. McBride explains: "It is the specialists that are, for obvious reasons, the best disease vectors are: they are stinging people." A doctoral student from the Team, Zhilei Zhao, now plans, with help of a special imaging equipment to give direct responses to specific odors in the brain of mosquitoes in high resolutions display.

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