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Thursday 25 July 2013

Researchers Developed a Way That Makes You Invisible to Mosquitoes



Several methods are used to limit exposure to mosquitoes and protect from bites when mosquitoes are unavoidable. But now researchers, including an Indian-origin scientist, have developed the world's first lightweight patch that can make people 'invisible' to pesky mosquitoes and could prove key in the battle against mosquito borne diseases.



That patch is named as 'KiteTM Mosquito patch.' It is is a 2-by-2-inch adhesive square that makes people virtually undetectable by mosquitoes for up to 48 hours. 




The patch is designed on basis of the research of University of California, Riverside in 2011, which states that mosquitoes primary way to sniff out human prey is their ability to detect carbon dioxide.

The patch, sticks to clothing, using non-toxic compounds that block mosquitoes' ability to detect carbon dioxide. It can be used by people of all ages , including infants and pregnant mothers. 

The initial research was performed in the laboratory of Anandasankar Ray, an associate professor of entomology , and was featured in the journal Nature. 

Ray's lab identified volatile odour molecules that can impair, if not completely disrupt , mosquitoes' carbon dioxide detection machinery. 

Kite's technology is the culmination of years of development work on a class of odour molecules, all of which are non-toxic compounds approved for human consumption by the US Food and Drug Administration. "The Kite Mosquito Patch isn't just another mosquito product, but a powerful alternative to most products on the market, enabling people to live normal lives with a new level of protection against contracting mosquito-borne diseases," said Michelle Brown, the chief scientist and vice president of Olfactor Laboratories.

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