IIT Kanpur Researchers Study Mosquito Brains to Combat Dengue

Researchers at IIT Kanpur, led by Professor Nitin Gupta, are studying the Aedes aegypti mosquito's brain to understand how it detects human odours and selects specific targets.

The study uses genetic tools like CRISPR-Cas9 to examine neural circuits, aiming to identify the chemical signals that drive mosquitoes to bite humans versus laying eggs.

Findings from this research could lead to new mosquito-control strategies that target the biological systems mosquitoes use to locate humans, potentially reducing the spread of dengue and chikungunya.