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Science Quickly

Chicken Scent Deters Malaria Mosquitoes

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.2639 Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2016

⏱️ 3 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The smell of a chicken wards off one species of malaria-spreading mosquito—meaning the scent compounds, or the birds themselves, might help deter disease. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

0:05.8

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years.

0:11.0

Yacold also partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for gut health, an investigator-led research program.

0:19.6

To learn more about Yachtolt, visitacolkot.co.j.j.

0:23.9

That's y-A-K-U-L-T dot-C-O-J-P.

0:28.4

When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacolt.

0:33.7

This is Scientific American's 60-second science.

0:37.2

I'm Christopher in Taliatta.

0:38.9

In Africa's battle against malaria, two low-tech tactics, insecticides and bed nets, have done a decent job killing off mosquitoes.

0:47.6

But it's mainly one species that's been affected, and that's a species called Anophilus Gambi,

0:54.0

often referred to as the

0:55.8

African malaria mosquito.

0:57.6

Ricard Ignell, a chemical ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

1:02.7

He says, despite that success, the problem is far from solved.

1:07.1

For one, mosquitoes are developing resistance to insecticides.

1:10.7

And two, there are many other species

1:12.7

that can spread the disease, including one that's common in the Horn of Africa, Anophiles-Ambiens.

1:19.2

Unlike the pickier Anophiles Gambi, its palate is wide-ranging. Arambiensis sucks the blood of cattle,

1:25.7

sheep, goats, but not chickens.

1:28.3

Chickens like mosquitoes.

1:30.3

So they will actually actively feed on mosquitoes and other insects.

1:36.3

So avoiding chickens could be a way of surviving,

...

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