Do you always get bitten by mosquitoes and wonder why you are a natural prey for them? It could be down to your genes.
If you are frequently covered in mosquito bites while others with you escape without so much as an itch, you can blame it on your genes.
A recent study shows that your genes determine whether or not mosquitoes are attracted to you. The reason some people are more attractive to mosquitoes probably lies in our genes and those of the mosquito, which co-evolved with us.
It’s not just your body spray that makes you makes you a prey to mosquitoes but your scent, the microbes that live on your skin and the natural odours you produce that start with your genes
Dr. Shannon Bennett, the a$$ociate Curator of Microbiology at San Francisco-based California Academy of Sciences, points to a recent UK study which used identical and fraternal twins to determine whether mosquitoes found certain subjects more attractive based on their individual smell.
He said: “It was quite an elegant way of comparing two degrees of genetic relatedness, regular siblings and then identical twins which are going to be 100 percent genetically identical.
“What was really cool is they put the mosquitoes in a chamber with two branches so that it looked like a Y- one branch going to a subject and the other branch either going to another subject or to clean air. They blew wind gently against the mosquitoes, and then observed whether the mosquitoes flew upwind towards one or the other source.”
However, it is not only your genes that contribute to you attracting mosquitoes. Other factors under your control can also play a part.
If you exercise too much or too little then this can attract the insects, according to the researchers. Thisis because fitness freaks excrete a lot of sweat and often have high temperatures, which mosquitoes like.
Also giving up alcohol may also help prevent you from being one of the 20 per cent of people who are regularly attacked, as mosquitoes are attracted to the smell of a tipple.
There are, however, ways to protect yourself against mosquito bites. One of these is the use of insect repellent on skin and clothes.
Mosquito-borne diseases like malaria affect millions around the globe. The faster we can get to controlling mosquito bites, the faster we can put an end to deaths caused by this disease.
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