Do you ever feel like mosquitoes always tend to skip everyone else and go straight for you? Well, you could be right as some people have genes that can help repel mosquitoes, new research suggests.
The reason you’re always getting bitten by mosquitoes could have to do with not having a certain gene that has the ability to deter the insects, according to a study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Health and published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Researchers looked into how mosquitoes reacted when given a choice of the hands of either identical or non-identical twins. They found that the identical twins both showed the same attractiveness to mosquitoes, while the non-identical twin pairs did not.
They did not see a difference between how the mosquito picked either of the identical twins, but noted a significant difference when it came to how they picked between the non-identical twins.
It has been previously shown that people who tend not to attract mosquitoes produce extra chemicals in their skin – a kind of natural defense against mosquitoes, the researchers suggest.
Many serious diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes including malaria, which kills an estimated 1 million people each year worldwide. April 25th marks World Malaria Day which brings global awareness to the disease.
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