Growing Branford biotech Azitra is part of a team working to develop a long-lasting mosquito repellent for the U.S. military using the good bacteria that live on the skin.
Research shows that certain microbial species living on the skin produce volatile odor-based chemical signals that attract mosquitos.
The team plans to harness the human skin microbiome — the diverse universe of microbes that live on human skin — to create a live biotherapeutic that can block those chemical signals and also repel the insects.