A study done by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Florida recently discovered that genes could play a factor on whether or not someone gets bit by a mosquito more frequently or not.
People who are bitten less produce a natural repellent, which is seemingly controlled by genetics.
In a study comparing fraternal and identical twins, identical twins were more likely to be bitten similar amount of times. The extent in which this could be viewed as genetic is that the correlation between bug bites, IQ, and height were all similar in identical twins.
This goes back to support research that pregnant women and people with a greater BMI are also more likely to be bit. Studies tried to show a dietary correlation with this, but no evidence has proven this theory true.
Link: http://news.ufl.edu/archive/2015/03/twins-experiment-reveals-genetic-link-with-mosquito-bites-.html
I found this article very interesting because I have noticed that in relation to my friends and family, I get bit less frequently than they do. I was not thinking about body odor when I noticed this. I have a blood disorder and maybe, somehow, the insects could detect that my blood is less than ideal. I think that would be an interesting experiment as well: frequency of insect bites vs. normal blood and people with blood disorders.
This was an interesting read, I had never thought about whether there was anything affecting the frequency of mosquito bites. You may be right about your blood disorder playing a role as well.
ReplyDeleteInteresting hypothesis regarding blood disorders and insect bites. Many other hypothesis can be derived from your point from a biochemical point of view. Maybe its possible that mosquitoes are attracted to certain hormones in the body that become more prevalent in women during pregnancy, or people who have a larger BMI.
ReplyDeleteInteresting hypothesis regarding blood disorders and insect bites. Many other hypothesis can be derived from your point from a biochemical point of view. Maybe its possible that mosquitoes are attracted to certain hormones in the body that become more prevalent in women during pregnancy, or people who have a larger BMI.
ReplyDeleteThis can be seen often during the summer. It is annoying to be covered in bites, but it does seem to fit my friend's profile. It would be useful if it was known, for certain, what the bugs detect.
ReplyDelete