Add "nonanal" to your vocabulary

The word will probably begin to appear in more conversations and product descriptions, for this reason:

A University of California, Davis research team led by chemical ecologist Walter Leal has discovered a low-cost, easy-to-prepare attractant that lures blood-fed mosquitoes without making humans hold their noses. The synthetic mixture, containing compounds trimethylamine and nonanal in low doses, is just as enticing to Culex mosquitoes as the current attractants, Leal said, but this one is odorless to humans.

Nonanal, also called nonanaldehyde or pelargonaldehyde, is an alkyl aldehyde. It has a strong fruity or floral odor and is used in flavors and perfume.

Nonanal is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable...