Most humans are not fond of blood-sucking insects, and mosquitoes are at the top of the list. Whether its the annoying buzz sound or the painful bites, the insect could be the most hated pest of all time. Of course, the fact that it also transmits various diseases such as Malaria and Dengue Fever doesn’t help its case.
As a result, scientists are in a continuous quest to end the menace of the hungry swarm. The latest attempt led to the discovery that the human diet pill can curb the appetite of mosquitoes.
Let’s start with the obvious question here; why?
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How Can Human Diet Pills Curb Mosquitoes’ Appetite?
A team of researchers from the Rockefeller University examined the Aedes Aegypti, a mosquito species that spreads dengue fever in the Eastern United States, South America, and Africa.
According to the study, the female Aedes Aegypti feeds on human blood to acquire a protein it needs to lay eggs. However, when supplied with a saline solution containing human diet pills, the mosquitoes did not bite.
What exactly did the drug do, you wonder?
Similar to its action in humans, the mosquito diet pill left the bugs feeling full and without appetite.
While the researchers did not include the mosquito diet pill name in the publication, they wrote that the drugs work by suppressing the Neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptors. Said to be responsible for diet regulation in humans (and mosquitoes apparently), analysis of the NPY gave an insight into how it works in the insects.
As a result, the researchers could replicate the loss-of-appetite effect by interfering with the NPY receptors without using the mosquito diet pill.
A World Free of Mosquito Bites
The study could change the way we control pest populations. Rather than use insecticides linked with the death of birds and bees, the mosquito diet pill solution is a safer alternative for the declining insect population.
Leslie Vosshall, the study’s senior author, told BBC;
“We’re starting to run out of ideas for ways to deal with insects that spread diseases… and this is a completely new way to think about insect control.”
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