Scientists have discovered the reason that
mosquitos switched from feeding on animals to humans: the smell of a chemical
vapor on human skin.
The chemical, called sulcatone, has a
unique scent that mosquitos learned to associate with food, The Independent
reports.
“It was a really good evolutionary move,”
said Leslie Vosshall of Rockefeller University in New York, who led the study
published in the journal Nature, “We provide the ideal lifestyle for
mosquitoes. We always have water around for them to breed in, we are hairless
and we live in large groups.”
Researchers found that mosquitos that still
feed on animals do not respond to the presence of sulcatone, but those that
prefer humans are drawn to the scent.
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