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Fatal Attraction

Do mosquitoes love to bite you more than other people? Blame your unique collection of odors. Using the “headspace collection chamber,” MMI assistant professor Conor McMeniman and postdoc Stephanie Rankin-Turner are finding which human-emitted chemicals most strongly attract mosquitoes. Understanding this chemistry of attraction may lead to highly effective lures and traps to control mozzie populations, reducing mosquito-borne diseases like malaria.

Illustration by Dung Hoang

CHAMBER OF ODORS: The box with an aluminum frame and Plexiglas walls cost about $2,000 to build.

FILTERED AIR: An air filter prevents external contaminants from entering the box.

IN THE BOX: Study participants sit on a tiny plastic chair for a 30-minute session.

FLUSHING VENT: Researchers purge contaminated air from the box with purified air before the study begins.

MANY SCENTS: The box collects CO2, acetic acid, acetoin, and hundreds of other chemicals. Human odors come from our breath, sweat gland secretions, chemicals from skin microbes, and their breakdown products.

Discovery // Breakthroughs + Impact

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