Chemical attraction: some people really are ‘mosquito magnets’, study finds

According to a new study, some people aremosquito magnets because they smell likemosquito.

People who are most attractive to mosquitoes produce a lot of chemicals on their skin that smell. It's bad news for mosquito magnets, they stay loyal to their favorites.

If you have high levels of this stuff on your skin, you will get all the bites at the picnic.

Many claims about who gets bitten more are not supported by evidence.

Maria Elena De Obaldia is the study author. The journal Cell contains their findings.

Volunteers were asked to wear nylon stockings around their forearms to pick up their skin smells. Dozens of mosquitoes were released after the stockings were placed in separate traps.

They would swarm to the most attractive subjects. Right away, it became clear.

The biggest mosquito magnet was more attractive to the mosquitoes than the last place winner.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is known to spread diseases. She would need more research to confirm the results from other types.

By testing the same people over multiple years, the study showed that the big differences stay the same.

Mosquito magnets seem to be the same.

The researchers found that mosquitoes had high levels of acids on their skin. People producegreasy molecule in different amounts and they are part of the skin's natural moisturizing layer. She said that the healthybacteria that live on the skin eat up the acids and produce the smell.

The chief scientific officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute said that you can't get rid of acids without damaging your skin. The institute supports the health and science department of the AP.

Jeff Riffell, a neurobiologist at the University of Washington who was not involved with the study, said it could help find new ways to repel mosquitoes. He said that there could be ways to change the smell of people.

Mosquitoes have evolved to be mean biting machines so figuring out ways to fight them isn't easy.

Researchers did an experiment with mosquitoes whose genes were altered to lose their sense of smell. The mosquito magnets were the same as before.

There are mosquitoes that are resistant. They have a lot of plans to bite us.