Mosquitos use body heat to find humans The pests were twice as drawn to lab targets if they emitted heat the temperature of human skin The findings could explain why loose clothing helps defend against mosquito bites MONDAY, Aug. 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Body heat is a powerful means by which mosquitos find human beings to bite, a new study shows. Mosquitos were twice as drawn to a target in a laboratory if the source emitted heat roughly the temperature of human skin as well as carbon dioxide and human odor, researchers reported recently in the journal Nature .
Essentially, body heat is a newly documented sense that mosquitos use to locate humans, researchers concluded. “What struck me most about this work was just how strong of a cue [body heat] ended up being,” said co-lead researcher Nicolas DeBeaubien , a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). “Once we got all the parameters just right, the results were undeniably clear.
” Mosquitos are one of the leading carriers of infectious disease in the world, researchers said in background notes. Mosquito-borne malaria causes more than 400,000 deaths each year, researchers said. The insects also spread more than 100 million cases of dengue, yellow fever, Zika and other diseases annually.
The insects use a variety of different means to find humans, including their own vision and sensors they’ve evolved to detect exhaled breath and odor from people, researchers said. However, thos.