New study reveals the reason why some people are "mosquito magnets"
A new study shows that some people are disposed to being mosquito magnets.
"It's funny because half of my family gets eaten alive constantly," said mother Stephanie Bressler. "They literally wake up with bites every time they go outside."
In a three-year study, researchers from Rockefeller University in New York discovered that mosquitos are attracted to a certain scent produced in some people's skin.
"A scent?" said mother Julie Peralta. "I've heard of blood type but scent makes sense also."
In the study, participants wore nylons on their arms to coat the scent but no matter what odors were added to try and distract the mosquitos the pests continued to return to the same scent.
The researchers used different chemical analysis techniques and discovered that mosquito magnets had elevated levels of 50 molecular compounds in the moisturizing barrier of their skin.
They later narrowed down the compounds and discovered that the subjects attracting the most pests had higher levels of carboxylic acids. These acids help produce our unique human body odors when the substances interact with our bodies' bacteria.
Those that give off this specific scent that makes people 100 times more attractive to mosquitos.
Researchers said that the acid smells like stinky feet and cheese but it's not clear if humans can detect the scent too. Scientists hope they can isolate the stinky stench to make products to prevent the mosquito magnets from getting bitten.
In addition to being an annoyance, the invasive Aedes mosquito, which is currently plaguing Southern California, can transmit diseases like yellow fever, dengue and Zika. However, officials mainly view the species as a mere annoyance and not an immediate cause for concern.
