Malaria mosquitoes accurately find their way to smelly feet
Monday, May 9, 2011 - 10:00
in Biology & Nature
Malaria mosquitoes utilise CO2 from exhaled air to localize humans from afar. In the vicinity of their preferred host they alter their course towards the human feet. Researcher Remco Suer discovered how female malaria mosquitoes use foot odours in the last meters to guide them to their favoured biting place. Suer, who will defend his doctoral thesis the 9th of May at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, sees possibilities to disrupt the host seeking behavior of the malaria mosquito.