[00:02] magnets. In one scientific study, 20% of the people ended up with 95% of the mosquito bites. So, if you've ever thought mosquitoes had it out for you specifically, you might be right. And now we know why. Hi, I'm Cameron and
[00:21] now we know why. Hi, I'm Cameron and this is Minute Itch. There's this idea that mosquitoes are attracted to people based on their blood type, but the actual evidence for that is weak at best. Instead, there's really good
[00:33] recent research showing that mosquitoes, female mosquitoes specifically, since males don't drink blood, rely on four main signals to track down their targets. And as far as we know, none of them are your blood type. The first is
[00:46] carbon dioxide, which of course animals exhale with every breath. Mosquitoes can sense CO2 coming from as far as 30 meters away, triggering them to make a beline or a mosquito line really toward a potential meal. And from there, it's a
[01:00] matter of vision. Certain mosquitoes visual systems are tuned to the specific wavelengths common to human skin colors. And once they get close, you know, within a meter or so, they rely on body heat to home in on their tasty target.
[01:14] But all humans breathe and are human colored and warm. So CO2, color, and heat can't really explain why some people get bitten more than others. I mean, if you're breathing a little faster or your temperature is a little
[01:28] higher than everyone around you, like if you've been exercising, you might be a slightly more attractive target. But a fourth signal is what really seems to occasional blood donors. And it's the way you smell. not like to other people.
[01:45] It's the way you smell to a mosquito. You see, everyone's skin harbors a slightly different blend of bacteria, and each type of bacteria produces a some of which apparently smell irresistible to mosquitoes. One study
[02:00] found that mosquitoes were 100 times more attracted to the scent of people whose skin produced lots of caroxyic acid than to the scent of people whose skin doesn't produce that much. And it turns out that your particular
[02:12] combination of skin bacteria is mostly governed by your genes. That's why identical twins who have the same genes are way more likely to have the same mosquito magnet status than nonidentical twins who only share half of their
[02:25] genes. And since you can't change your genes, you're more or less stuck with how attractive mosquitoes find you. Except that there's one weird way you could become a mosquito magnet, even if you aren't one now, and it's by getting
[02:38] bitten by a mosquito. Which sounds like I'm messing with causality, but hear me out. Certain mosquito-born viruses like Zika and Deni fever can actually affect the blend of bacteria living on their host's skin, boosting the types that
[02:52] bringing in more mosquitoes to help the viruses jump into new hosts. And that viruses jump into new hosts. And that really bites.