Why are you like a mosquito magnet?

A new study by American scientists has shown that people who have high levels of acids on their skin are more attractive to mosquitoes.

Some people believe they are real “mosquito magnets” and a new study proves they really are – it all comes down to how we smell.

A group of researchers at the Rockefeller University in New York found that the people most attractive to mosquitoes develop high levels of certain acids on their skin.

Removing this acid can harm your skin’s health, says neuroscientist Leslie Vosshall, but the discovery could lead to new methods to repel bloodsuckers. The team is studying ways to fight skin bacteria and change people’s smells.

But there’s also bad news, according to Vosshall: “If you have high levels of a specific substance so loved by all mosquitoes on your skin, you will be the one who gets all the bites at a picnic.”

The study was conducted with 64 volunteers from the university and surrounding areas who were asked to wear nylon stockings over their forearms to capture the scent of their skin. The stockings were placed in separate traps at the end of a long tube, then dozens of mosquitoes were released. Study author Maria Elena De Obaldia: “They mostly lashed out at the most attractive subjects, the ones who claimed they were bitten the most by mosquitoes.”

The experiment used the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads diseases such as yellow fever, Zika and dengue.

Vosshall shared that she would expect similar results from other species, but more research will be needed to confirm.

The beneficial bacteria that live on the skin absorb these acids and create some of our skin’s scent.

However, scientists say finding ways to control mosquitoes is still not easy.

The researchers also conducted an experiment with mosquitoes whose genes had been edited to damage their sense of smell. Insects still flocked to the same “most popular bloodsuckers” people.

“Mosquitoes are amazingly tenacious. They have many ways to find us and bite us,” Vosshall said.

Christina DENISYUK.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Photo: Associated Press Photo