A whiff of a new insect repellant

A single gene controls the sense of smell in fruit flies and probably other insects according to research from the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at New York's Rockefeller University.

The gene is Or83b and without it insects have trouble locating humans. It may be possible to design a compound for an insect repellant that blocks the gene. Apparently, most insectv repellants are based on folk remedies and trial and error. Since so many diseases are transmitted by insect bites, this could be an extremely important finding.