The parasite that causes malaria can change the way you smell, making you more attractive to mosquitoes, according to a new study. The work may help explain why the disease is able to spread so effectively.

Read more at Malaria infection creates a ‘human perfume’ that makes us more attractive to mosquitoes at Science.

In a paper published Jan. 25 in Current Biology, University of Washington researchers report that mosquitoes can in fact learn to associate a particular odor with an unpleasant mechanical shock akin to being swatted. As a result, they’ll avoid that scent the next time.

— Read more at If you swat mosquitoes, they may learn to avoid your scent at University of Washington.

While they’re susceptible to a range of other diseases and parasites, waterbucks simply aren’t of much interest to tsetse flies. Researchers from Kenya, the United Kingdom, and Germany identified five compounds that give waterbucks their characteristic scent—and found that they can help repel the flies.

— Read more at Waterbuck-Scented Cologne Can Protect Cows From Tsetse Fly Bites at Atlas Obscura.

The flowers use coordinated signals of color and fragrance to attract insects, which acquire pollen during floral visits and ensure pollination of the plants. In turn, the insects benefit by acquiring nectar and pollen as food.

By connecting visual and olfactory channels, the flowers render their signal stronger and more stable under the intense environmental conditions of the Aegean. On windy days, fragrances may dissipate but colors will remain viable floral attractants, whereas fragrance could be the primary attractant when flowers are concealed by the dense vegetation of the Phrygana scrublands.

— Read more at New study reveals flower color, fragrance coordination at Cornell Chronicle. Found via Indigo Perfumery at Facebook.