2023-05-09 06:58:18
Time.news – The first signs of summer are evident. The heat has already arrived and the first signs are the mass arrival of mosquitoes. Stings, stings and itching are on the rise, but – writes the Guardian – “there are signs that a solution for the 20% of the population who receive an above-average number of stings may soon be on the way”. How? In early May, researchers at the University of Jerusalem (Huji) developed a new repellent capable of reducing the number of mosquitoes that feed on our blood by 80%.
A study published in the journal Pnas Nexus reveals that the application of a thin layer based on naturally occurring cellulose nanocrystals (Cnc), a renewable raw material contained in cotton and wood, an organic compound with an unpleasant odor, spread on the skin produced a “chemical camouflage”. And this camouflage confused the mosquitoes and diverted them elsewhere, to other targets.
“The CNC-repellent combination will have longer effectiveness and range compared to other products currently available on the market,” says Jonathan Bohbot, senior lecturer at Huji and one of the paper’s co-authors, adding that they now expect “high levels of product adoption” if and when it hits shelves.
According to some estimates, then, genes represent “85% of a person’s propensity to be stung”, while the company that performs DNA tests, 23andMe, claims to have “identified as many as 285 hereditary genetic markers” that they are responsible for the frequency with which mosquitoes strike their victims. Even because mosquitoes are attracted to humans through volatile substances (organic compounds) that we ourselves emit with our breath.
However, it is precisely the substances that we release through our skin that serve to indicate to the mosquitoes the way to feed; these are “chemicals that we produce naturally, such as lactic acid and ammonia”. And the more lactic acid the body produces, “the greater and worse the blood-feeding frenzy of mosquitoes is likely to become.” Therefore we read in the report of the English newspaper that, given the limits in changing our physiology, “repellants are, for now, really the only defense we have”.
The mosquito products that will eventually be made will be purchased around the world in such quantities, the market is expected to reach $9 billion (£7.2 billion) by 2026.
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