Mosquitoes indeed are attracted to certain humans more than others, according to a new study. The research findings were published in the journal Cell Over the course of three years, researchers asked a group of 64 volunteers to wear nylon stockings on their arms for six hours a day over multiple days. Maria Elena De Obaldia, the study's first author and former postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University, constructed a "two-choice olfactometer assay" -- an acrylic glass chamber in which researchers put two of the stockings.
The study team then released yellow fever mosquitoes, scientifically called Aedes aegypti, into the chamber and observed which stocking drew more insects. The mosquito magnets had much higher rates of carboxylic acid on their skin than the low attractors. Carboxylic acid produces the characteristic smell of humans" -- which may be what attracts mosquitoes, according to Vosshall.
One participant, identified only as Subject 33, was the belle of the ball for mosquitoes: The subject's stockings were 100 times more attractive to mosquitoes than the least attractive participants.