Mosquitoes' Taste for Human Blood: A Single Mutation Made Them Deadly

• DNA analysis reveals mosquitoes began feeding on human blood 2.9 to 1.6 million years ago.
• This shift coincided with the arrival of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia's Sundaland region.
• A genetic mutation allowed mosquitoes to detect human body odor, sweat, and carbon dioxide.
• The research, based on Anopheles leucosphyrus species, pushes back the timeline of human-mosquito interaction significantly.
• Understanding this evolution can aid in developing new strategies to combat mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue.