NEW RESEARCH COULD LEAD TO MORE EFFECTIVE REPELLENTS
For many people, warmer weather means more days spent in the sun and long evenings outdoors. It also means mosquito bites. Even if you’re one of the lucky people that receives relatively few, you’ve probably noticed that not all people get bitten with the same frequency. And while frequent bites might simply be a nuisance for some, it could mean a much higher incidence of nasty diseases such as malaria, dengue andchikungunya in some parts of the world. According to a new study published in PLOS One, your genes have a lot to do with that.
Past studies have found that female mosquitoes—the ones that suck your blood—have strong preferences for people based on the chemicals they emit, otherwise known as their odor, which is heavily influenced by genes. So for this study, the researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine wanted to test the role of genes more directly. They selected 18 pairs of identical twins and 19 pairs of non-identical female twins to see the variations in how much mosquitoes were attracted to them (the women were all post-menopausal to ensure that their menstrual cycles didn’t affect the outcomes). They found that the identical twins attracted mosquitoes at much more similar levels than the non-identical twins.
The researchers haven’t pinpointed which genes in particular draw in the most mosquitoes. But they hope that a better understanding of why mosquitoes are drawn to some people more than others could lead to more effective repellents in the future.
That is really awesome. I know my family pesters me to put on bug spray when it really does not even work for me. If we can use the data from this research then the bug spray in the future can be a lot more effective and would seriously help out the world a lot more and less diseases would be spread by these pesky little blood suckers.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that mosquitoes have an odor. But i really hate them espically when i get those bumps after wards. These little creatures has been around son long how come we cant get rid of them?
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a repellent for just my genes because they drive me nuts. I can not stand them. They make me itchy and everything else and I just do not like them. This is a great thing.
ReplyDeleteI hate moquitos! I don't get very many mosquito bites though so i guess i am lucky. I must have gotten good genes. When i do get them they are very annoying!
ReplyDeletemosquitos are annoying! i hate them so much! And some even carry diseases which is very scary because during the summer i get bitten by one everyday! i could easily get it!
ReplyDeleteI hate all kind of bugs including mosquito's and that is one negative about spring and summer time. I hope researchers find out what attracts a mosquito because that would be cool to know. The repellent's we already have work for me most of the time which is nice but for some people it's different so it would be good to have different kinds of repellents. It would be so helpful because it would prevent some people from getting diseases.
ReplyDeleteI hate mosquitos also known as like mosquitoes may carry diseases. I honest don't get many mosquito bites. Compare to my brother who always gets mosquito bits.
ReplyDeleteI don't get very many mosquito bites but I noticed that my little sister gets lots and lots of mosquito bites. Also my little cousin get lots of mosquito bites put hers get very big circles, it gets all big and red. I really hate mosquito bites. Thinking that they can carry a disease it just eww! Hopefully with this data we can get bugly scary that works better than today.
ReplyDeleteI think it is weird but cool that your gens can have something to do with when and how much you get bit I would figure that how effect on the persons chances of getting bit and its weird how the effects of the diseases have gotten better of the time period of the world use to be bad now not as bad
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ReplyDeleteI would like to have something that would not attract mosquitoes to my skin. Alot of people hate.them, so they'll qant this too. Nobody would want a bug sucking your blood and leaving bumps everywhere that you scratch and is annoying.
ReplyDeleteMosquitos are so nasty and i hate them. Well i hate every bug. They are super annoying to me. And they carry so many diseases and could be very deadly. But i would love if there was a way to avoid mosquitos.
ReplyDeleteI hate Mosquitos! All they do is give people hard times. They bite me alot and alot of people i know also get bit alot by mosquitos. I really do not like moaquitos
ReplyDeleteThis might be true because I almost never get bit by mosquitos. They may not like how my DNA tastes. I hope that is true because mosquitos are really annoying.
ReplyDeleteI hate mosquitos ! but I don't get them must often usually my brother that get them a lot. And some carries diseases and some can also can even kill you. I hope this real because I hate mosquitos they annoy me
ReplyDeleteI hate mosquitos! I feel as they always get me and just me. Also they carry diseases that could be deadly. They are very annoying. I wish there was a way to aviod them.
ReplyDeleteI really hate mosquitos. I feel like everytime i turn around in the summer their just right there waiting to get me. You have to watch for them because some can cause some effects on you. So ill stay away!!!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hate mosquitoes. if scientists were to make a repellent I would be the first to buy it. sitting outside in the summer I get them all the time and irritate the crap out of me. I don't understand how they haven't gone extinct they been around for too long.
ReplyDeleteThis could be a really good invention, because almost everyone, if not all people, hate mosquitoes. If they made a certain repellent for genes everyone would buy it.
ReplyDeleteI hate mosquitoes more than anything. I hate the bumps that itch its hell. If they make a repellent they will sell out because im buying it all.
ReplyDeletePretty sure I have the gene because they're always all around me. They seriously annoy me and I don't really like them at all. But this is kind of cool. Too bad they don't suck fat though because I wouldn't mind them then
ReplyDeleteThis is cool I had no idea genes could affect this. Mosquitos are always bothering me its annoying I wish I had that repellant cause It woyld be helpful to me and other people .
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ReplyDeleteMosquitos are one of the worst pests and I try everything to repell them. It's cool to know that genes are a factor with this and I hope they come up with a better repellent that could actually work besides OFF! >:(
ReplyDeleteI hate mosquitos and I get bit by them all the time in the summer. I never knew your genes could cause how much you get bit by them. I honestly think I have this gene because they are always around me when I go outside.
ReplyDeleteI hope they find a more effective repellent for mosquitos because I don't like them. I am surprised I haven't caught a disease from a mosquito because I have had plenty of bites so far in my life. I wonder if diseases spread by mosquitos will eventually expand to other countries other than the ones already affected.
ReplyDeleteMosquitos are probably the most pesky bugs in the world. I have had plenty of encounters already and they get annoying after a while. I just wish that we could do something about the mosquito population.
ReplyDeleteI think mosquitoes are one of the worst insects. I guess my genes attract them because everytime I go outside I always get bites all over. Some times I wish me and my sister were twins but now that I know it could cause more misqutoe bites I dont want to be a twin any more.
ReplyDeleteWhen i get bite by a mosquitoes it hurts and itches to death and it gets worst i wish that mosquitoes don't exist. i never knew genes could cause it.
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