Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
The Skin Microbiome as a Mosquito Deterrent
929 The Skin Microbiome as a Mosquito Deterrent
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr. David Niesel.
And I’m Dr. Norbert Herzog
We attract mosquitos, from the colors we wear to the amount of carbon dioxide we exhale. Pregnancy and exercise also make us targets. Now we’re learning that the microbes on our skin can also attract them.
Mosquito bites are a nuisance but they can also spread viruses and parasites to humans such as dengue, West Nile, Zika, and malaria.
A new form of protection could be through manipulating the bacteria that naturally live on our skin. The study found that at least two bacteria there, staphylococcus epidermidis and Corynebacterium amycoltum, deposit a waste product called lactic acid.
We know that mosquitos can “smell” this product, so researchers wondered whether non- lactic acid producing microbes prevent or reduce mosquito biting. They began by removing the genes in both bacteria that make lactic acid.
They coated the skin of lab mice daily for three days with these engineered bacteria and measured how attractive they were to mosquitos for one, seven and fourteen days.
All the lactic acid deficient strains were up to eighty-six percent less attractive up to two weeks after treatment. Even when the mosquitoes landed, their “biting” activity was lowered.
If we created lotions with these engineered bacteria as a skin probiotic, people could become way less attractive to mosquitoes.
It’s not as effective as DEET, but it lasts much longer and doesn’t have the side effects that some people have with this insecticide.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com
