Mosquito Magnets: Why are mozzies more attracted to some people than others?

Summer barbecues have been debated for years.

Now some new research claims it has the answer.

And it turns out it might literally come down to chemistry.

Researchers at Rockefeller University in the United States tested mosquito attraction to human skin odors in an attempt to establish a common link between people who are “very attractive or unattractive” to mosquitoes.

“Chemical analysis has revealed that highly attractive people produce more carboxylic acid in their skin exudates.

Even “mutant” mosquitoes, which were impaired in their ability to analyze human skin, were able to distinguish between attractive and unattractive individuals.

And you can even thank (or curse) your parents for how delicious you look to disease-carrying vampires.

The amount of carboxylic acid contained in a person’s skin is highly stable over life and is likely determined by genetics.

Unfortunately, that means there isn’t much you can do to change how much you can eat for the local mozzie population, but the researchers hope their findings will help develop better repellents. I’m here.

Mosquitoes carry diseases such as Ross River fever, dengue fever, and malaria.