Mosquitoes Naturally Prefer Some People

I have lived in Minnesota for nearly my entire life, almost 22 years now, and I wouldn't change much about it other than our luck in sports (but, hey! those Twins), the humidity and mosquitoes. All the mosquitoes can burn forever (I know that sounds spiteful).

Every time I go outside in the warm summer months, Mosquitoes eat me alive -- a new study confirms that it's because they just like some people better. A study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found used twins, both fraternal and identical, to find what mosquitoes might find most attractive. The sets of twins were tested in attractiveness by having a y-shaped chamber connected to each of their hands and allowing a mosquito to choose between the equally vulnerable subjects. The identical twins ended up with the same amount of preference from the mosquitoes, pointing to a heritable trait for how tasty a treat you are for the pests. Interestingly, only a female mosquito will hunt after it has mated. There are several reasons that a mosquito will go after someone: carbon dioxide, skin odor, disease and skin bacteria. Those who have recently exercised or have a larger surface area are more appealing, according to the Verge. With spring in full swing and the recent rain, mosquitoes are coming back strong and I can finally say at least somebody is interested in me. But I think we can all agree that if mosquitoes don't like you, you're just damn lucky.   (Source)   Photo coutesy of: Sanofi Pasteur