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A woman is outside with a scent trail behind her that attracts two hungry mosquitoes.
Why Do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?
Scientists itch to decipher the cues that make some people mosquito magnets.
Why Do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?
Why Do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?

Scientists itch to decipher the cues that make some people mosquito magnets.

Scientists itch to decipher the cues that make some people mosquito magnets.

smell

Green-themed conceptual illustration of a human profile with abstract patterns that represent smelling.
Disease Scent Signatures Disclose What the Nose Knows
Iris Kulbatski, PhD | Jun 12, 2023 | 4 min read
Researchers redefine the lost art of smelling illness using one woman’s exquisitely sensitive nose.
Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and sides on a table
The Smell of Food Affects Metabolism in Fasting Mice
Shafaq Zia | Nov 18, 2022 | 3 min read
The odor prompted the animals’ fat cells to release lipids into circulation.
an&nbsp;<em>Aedes aegypti&nbsp;</em>mosquito, black with white dots and stripes on its joints and body, sitting on a person&#39;s skin and feeding.&nbsp;
Smelly Skin Compounds Draw Mosquitoes to Some People More than Others
Katherine Irving | Oct 19, 2022 | 3 min read
People with more carboxylic acids in their body odor are more attractive to mosquitoes, a study finds.
blue-gloved hands injecting mouse with syringe
Sex of Researcher Influences Ketamine’s Effects in Mice: Study
Shawna Williams | Sep 8, 2022 | 3 min read
The findings likely have implications for animal research far beyond the study of antidepressants.
Close-up of a mosquito antenna with hair-like protrusions and fluorescently labeled glomeruli as green circles on the shaft
The Neuroscience Behind Why Mosquitoes Always Find You
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Aug 18, 2022 | 5 min read
Neurons in mosquito antennae can express more than one olfactory receptor at a time, a redundancy that likely ensures they don’t lose a potential host’s scent.
Sleeping mice in chambers with mosquitoes behind them on a mesh
Mosquitoes Drawn to Hosts Infected by Dengue, Zika
Patience Asanga | Jun 30, 2022 | 4 min read
Flavivirus infections alter the skin microbiome of mice to increase the production of a sweet-smelling compound that attracts the viruses’ insect vectors, a study finds.
Two women in athletic clothing smiling at each other.
Study: People “Click” Better When Their Body Odor Matches
Dan Robitzski | Jun 24, 2022 | 6 min read
Pairs of same-sex friends who reported strong connections when they first met had similar body odors, and body odor similarity predicted whether two strangers would hit it off.
close-up of an Aedes aegypti mosquito on human skin
Researchers Discover What Attracts Mosquitoes to Humans
Sophie Fessl, PhD | May 11, 2022 | 5 min read
A brain area of Aedes aegypti responds specifically to components of human sebum, a study finds.
Photograph of a hummingbird
Even the Tiniest of Birds Use Smell in Some Situations
Jef Akst | Jan 4, 2022 | 4 min read
Once considered anosmic, birds are now widely recognized as using olfactory cues to aid in a wide range of behaviors.
Cute sleeping newborn baby child on mother hands stock photo
Exposure to Chemical from Babies Linked to Aggression
Chloe Tenn | Nov 22, 2021 | 3 min read
A study finds that the odorless compound hexadecanal, or HEX, increases aggressive behavior in women but has a calming effect on men.
A close-up of a fruit fly head with antenna clearly visible in front of its red eyes
Bacterial Infections Disrupt Flies’ Sense of Smell
Abby Olena, PhD | Jul 21, 2021 | 4 min read
The temporary loss of olfaction stops the flies from eating any more of whatever it is that made them sick.
dogs, olfaction, smell, prostate cancer, volatiles, diagnosis, disease, canine
Watch a Trained Pup Detect Prostate Cancer From a Urine Sample
Asher Jones | Feb 18, 2021 | 1 min read
Good girl, Florin!
dogs, olfaction, smell, prostate cancer, volatiles, diagnosis, disease, canine
Dogs Are Teaching Machines to Sniff Out Cancer
Asher Jones | Feb 18, 2021 | 5 min read
In a proof-of-concept study, researchers used dogs’ diagnoses of prostate cancer to inform a machine learning algorithm with the goal of one day detecting cancers with canine-level accuracy.
The Scientist Speaks Podcast - Episode 12
The Scientist | Dec 22, 2020 | 1 min read
Decoding Smell: Demystifying Human Disease and Behavior
Researchers Make Mice Smell Odors that Aren’t Really There
Ruth Williams | Jun 18, 2020 | 3 min read
Using optogenetics, scientists have simulated the sense of smell directly within the mouse brain to investigate the nature of olfactory perception.
Loss of Smell, Taste May Be Reliable Predictor of COVID-19: Study
Ashley Yeager | May 12, 2020 | 3 min read
Data from a crowdsourcing smartphone app is helping to track the spread of the disease in real time and reveals the symptom as the number one indicator of infection.
Smells of Nature Lower Physiological Stress
Ashley Yeager | Jan 2, 2020 | 4 min read
In a virtual reality experiment, participants recovered faster from a small electric shock when they could smell natural scents than when they could smell urban odors.
Smell May Be Possible Without Olfactory Bulbs
Jef Akst | Nov 6, 2019 | 2 min read
A study identifies five women who have a functioning sense of smell despite an apparent lack of olfactory bulbs—the region of the brain that processes odors.
A section of a mouse piriform cortex, a layered structure important for smell processing
Image of the Day: Smell Circuits
Nicoletta Lanese | Jul 24, 2019 | 1 min read
The brain wiring behind scent processing seems to scale across mammalian species.
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