Several hypotheses sought to answer why mosquitoes seem to be attracted to some humans over others. These include blood type, clothing type, or microorganisms on the skin, but none have ever been scientifically proven.
However, a study detailed how some people become mosquito magnets due to the production of a chemical linked to smell, and it may be a problem they will have to deal with for the rest of their life.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell on October 18, had eight volunteers wear nylon stockings over their arms to collect their body odor six hours each day for several days.
The stockings were placed at the ends of various long tubes, and Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes—one of the most prevalent carriers of deadly diseases—were unleashed to observe which tubes they would select.
By the end, scientists had uncovered a startling discovery: Subject 33 was 100 times more attractive to mosquitoes than the least attractive participant and was four times more attractive than the second-place participant.
The individuals who were mosquito magnets produced carboxylic acids, which are used by bacteria on human skin to create distinctive body scents, at considerably higher quantities than the other participants, according to the researchers who evaluated the chemical composition of each participant.
“There’s a very, very strong association between having large quantities of these fatty acids on your skin and being a mosquito magnet,” Leslie Vosshall, study author and neurobiologist at Rockefeller University in New York, said in a statement.
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