How do mosquitoes zero in on their quarry ? A group of UK scientist is spoil to solve the enigma — and they ’re starting by snap thousands of exposure of the airborne pest .
Engineers and bugologist from the University of Warwick and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine ( both locate in the UK ) are using high - resolution cameras and infrared lighting to hit the books how the diminished flies interact with mosquito netting . The feat is a part of a European research opening fighting malaria in Africa calledtheAvecNet Project .
In the journalScientific Reports , the researchers reported trackingAnopheles gambiaemosquitoes , one species in the only genus known to carry malaria , in a simulated bedroom environment . Volunteers in Tanzania lay in beds , hung with different types of mosquito netting , for an hour , serving as resilient bait for the bloodsuckers .
During the experiment , two unlike cameras took 50 image per second of the room . The in high spirits - res look-alike , about 4 million pixels each , were so heavy that University of Warwick analyst had to develop new software just to swear out the data .
The mosquito - watching setup designed by the researcher . Image Credit : Parker et al . , Scientific Reports ( 2015 )
The researchersfoundthat 75 percent of all mosquito bodily process materialise at the roof of the protective nets , directly above the person in bed . And while the mosquitoes made less overall contact withinsecticide - treatednets than the untreated nets , they were not at once snub by the treated mesh . After 30 minutes of trying to extend to the human being inside the roadblock , the dirt ball ’ activity sink . But it was unclear whether the insecticide shield actually killed any mosquitoes or merely drive them to unlike hunt grounds .
Up next : The scientist plan to go forward sifting through the picture for more answers on netting that will prevent the spreading of malaria .
