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【科普】驱蚊胺让蚊子退避三舍
DEET Smells Bad to Mosquitoes, Doesn’t Mask Human Scents
By Kelley Colihan
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Aug. 22, 2008 -- So you spray bug repellent on your body and hope for the best. But do you know what really keeps mosquitoes from sipping on your blood?
A new study shows that mosquitoes actually posses a sense of smell located on their antennae.
"We found that mosquitoes can smell DEET and they stay away from it," says Walter Leal, PhD, professor of entomology at University of California Davis, in a news release.
He and his team carried out the study at the University of California, Davis.
The old theory of how insect repellents work was that DEET blocks the insect's ability to detect lactic acid from people, which acts as a mosquito magnet.
Instead, "DEET doesn't mask the smell of the host or jam the insect's senses. Mosquitoes don't like it because it smells bad to them," Leal says.
The researchers first identified a specific smelling neuron from mosquito antennae that was sensitive to DEET.
The researchers also tested mosquitoes with "sugar stations" sprayed with and without DEET.
Both male and female mosquitoes stayed away from the DEET areas.
Both mosquitoes eat nectar, but only the females suck blood for food.
They also found that DEET on human skin suppressed airborne chemicals that would normally be released from the skin. This effect may make skin less attractive to mosquitoes by blocking "the release rather than on the reception of chemical signals," write the researchers.
Lead study author Zainulabeuddin Syed, PhD, says in prepared comments that it was a breakthrough moment to discover the precise antennae neurons that detect the chemical cocktail known as DEET.
"I couldn't believe my eyes because it goes against conventional wisdom. So I repeated the experiment over and over until we discussed the findings in the lab," according to Syed.
In background information presented with the findings, authors write that DEET is "the gold standard" of mosquito repellents and is used by more than 200 million people around the world to keep mosquitoes at bay.
The findings could lead to better disease prevention, as mosquitoes are known for spreading diseases like West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis, and malaria.
The findings are published in the Aug. 18th edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 本人已认领该文编译，48小时后若未提交译文，请其他战友自由认领。 Aug. 22, 2008 -- So you spray bug repellent on your body and hope for the best. But do you know what really keeps mosquitoes from sipping on your blood?
2008.08.22——你给自己的身体喷洒驱虫剂，然后满怀希望免遭蚊咬。但你知道是什么阻止了蚊子来吸你的血吗？
A new study shows that mosquitoes actually posses a sense of smell located on their antennae.
一项新的研究显示，蚊子确实拥有一种嗅觉，就在他们的触角上。
"We found that mosquitoes can smell DEET and they stay away from it," says Walter Leal, PhD, professor of entomology at University of California Davis, in a news release.
“我们发现蚊子能嗅到DEET，并且会和它保持距离”，Walter Leal博士，California Davis大学昆虫学教授，在新闻发布会上说。
He and his team carried out the study at the University of California, Davis.
他和他的团队在California大学开展了这项研究。
The old theory of how insect repellents work was that DEET blocks the insect's ability to detect lactic acid from people, which acts as a mosquito magnet.
过去关于驱虫剂的作用原理的理论是DEET阻断了昆虫侦测到人体散发的乳酸气味的能力，而乳酸对蚊子来说就像磁铁一样有吸引力。
Instead, "DEET doesn't mask the smell of the host or jam the insect's senses. Mosquitoes don't like it because it smells bad to them," Leal says.
取而代之的是，“DEET并未掩盖人体的气味，也没有阻断了昆虫的感觉器官，蚊子不喜欢DEET，因为对它们来说，DEET闻起来太糟糕了”，Leal说。
The researchers first identified a specific smelling neuron from mosquito antennae that was sensitive to DEET.
研究者首次从蚊子触角中鉴定出一个特异的嗅觉神经元，它对DEET很敏感。
The researchers also tested mosquitoes with "sugar stations" sprayed with and without DEET.
研究者还用喷洒和没有喷洒DEET的糖块来测试蚊子。
Both male and female mosquitoes stayed away from the DEET areas.
雄性和雌性蚊子都对喷洒DEET的区域避而远之。
Both mosquitoes eat nectar, but only the females suck blood for food.
两性蚊子都吃花蜜，但只有雌性吸食人血。
They also found that DEET on human skin suppressed airborne chemicals that would normally be released from the skin. This effect may make skin less attractive to mosquitoes by blocking "the release rather than on the reception of chemical signals," write the researchers.
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-01-11 17:14
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