A team of researchers have published
in Naturethat the major malaria vector
in Africa, the Anopheles gambiae
mosquito, is able to smell major
human host odorants better at night.
The study reports an integrative
approach to examine the mosquito’s
ability to smell across the 24-hour day
and involved sensory physiological,
and behavioral techniques. The
researchers examined the role for a
major chemosensory family of
mosquito proteins, odorant-binding
proteins in the daily regulation of
olfactory sensitivities in the malarial
mosquito.
It is thought that OBPs in the insect
antennae and mouth parts function to
concentrate odorant molecules and
assist in their transport to the actual
olfactory receptors, thereby allowing
for odorant detection. The team
revealed daily rhythmic protein
abundance of OBPs, having higher
concentrations in the mosquito’s
sensory organs at night than during
the day. This discovery could change
the way we look at protecting
ourselves from the disease-carrying
insects

Okay, that litany still cease to cancel out the fact that mosquitoes drove away the oyibo pple from Africa.

Dem mama