I am currently reviewing an interesting article from the October 2022 issue of Cell about why mosquitoes do not bite me.
This well-conducted study revealed the following findings:
– some people are indeed more attractive to mosquitoes than others, with differences reaching up to 100 times (!)
– people who attract mosquitoes significantly produce more carboxylic acids in their skin secretions. These acids are detected by ionotropic receptors in mosquitoes.
– these acids are emitted by bacteria on the skin, and the “pattern” is unique for each individual.
– for the experiment, scientists created genetically modified mosquitoes Ir25a/Ir76b, designed to be less susceptible to carboxylic acids. This confirmed the hypothesis but also raised more questions as other unknown attractors were discovered.
Since no mosquito has bitten me for at least 8 years, it seems my skin bacteria are doing a great job.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 