Dispensary Corner 22 Feb 13
February 22, 2013
SUPER mossies.
Laying awake at night listening to the shrill buzz of a tiny vampire as it advances and retreats, many may wonder whether mosquitoes do in fact have some form of dark super power. Well it now seems as if some do. Scientists researching Queensland’s Aeses aegypti subset species of mosquito have determined that they do in fact have a very unfortunate superpower, that of being the ability to adapt to insect repellent. The research, published in PLOS ONE, found that whilst the Aeses mozzie was at first repelled by N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), after a mere three hours it was able to adapt to the smell and was able to return for a bite of dinner. The study, whilst nightmarish for those who think a quick spray and a citronella candle will protect them from the irritating buzzing which announces a mozzie’s arrival at a BBQ, has more worrying implications, being that the Aeses breed is known to be a major carrier of Dengue fever.
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