Targeting the sense of smell of mosquitoes to combat malaria

A research conducted by scientists from Vanderbilt, Northwestern & Stanford University have found a possible anti-malarial target in the sense of olfaction of the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes  (Anopheles genus) use its sense of smell to detect the host to take its blood meal from. By comparing the homology shared between the fruit fly and the mosquito for the genes responsible for olfaction sensory pathway, scientists have found them to be similar in the case of Arr1, an arrestin protein. This protein could possibly be targeted to make anti-malarial drugs.

Research paper:
William B. Walker, Elaine M. Smith Taha Jan, L.J. Zwiebel. A functional role for Anopheles gambiae Arrestin1 in olfactory signal transduction. (2008) Journal of Insect Physiology 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.031.