Your smell can make you a mosquito magnet, researchers say

By MADDIE BURAKOFF, AP Science Writer

NEW YORK -- If mosquitoes love you, new research suggests it may be because of how you smell. 

A study published Tuesday finds that people who are "mosquito magnets" have high levels of certain chemicals on the skin that are tied to odor. 

Scientists pitted people's smells against each other in the lab and saw that the bugs swarmed to the same hosts over time. 

Bad news for the mosquito magnets: It's hard to change your skin acid levels. But some scientists hope the new research can help think up new ways to fight off bites.