A better way of keeping mosquitoes at bay is under development
A nifty piece of chemistry may have found a safe, effective, long-lasting protection
Mosquito repellents have come a long way. For decades, the market leader was DEET, which fends the pests off successfully, but only for an hour or two. Recently, Icaridin has become available. This lasts up to eight hours and is just as effective. Yet both are mildly poisonous to cells grown in culture and their toxicity (if any) to human users is constantly debated. The search is thus on for something that is unquestionably not toxic at all.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Buzz off!”
From the January 28th 2023 edition
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