Mosquitoes' Attraction to You May be Genetic

Are you a person that seems always to get bitten by mosquitoes? It turns out that something in our genes may make us more attractive to those pesky insects. Learn more from this video by Veritaseum.

Get a quick overview of mosquitoes from a researcher that studies them, Professor Immo Hansen. In his lab, there are some strains he feeds using his own arm. Only female mosquitoes bite; they need the proteins in that blood so they can make their eggs. In the research lab, the investigators have a device to measure how attracted mosquitoes are to individuals. You can see it in use around the third minute of the video. Twin studies using that device enabled scientists to find that attractiveness to mosquitoes has a genetic influence.