By News18,Parishmita Saikia

Copyright news18

You may have noticed that some people seem to be bitten by mosquitoes far more often than others. But have you ever wondered why that is? Scientists have recently conducted a study that may provide an answer, and the findings are quite surprising. The research revealed a direct link between mosquito bites and beer consumption, leaving many astonished.
A team of researchers in the Netherlands, led by Felix Hol, a scientist at Radboud University Nijmegen, carried out the study, which was published on the research platform bioRxiv.
For years, scientists have been trying to understand why mosquitoes appear to prefer certain people. To explore this further, the team ran an experiment involving thousands of mosquitoes and 500 human participants at Lowlands, a major music festival in the Netherlands.
How The Experiment Was Carried Out
The researchers set up a temporary lab at the festival site, where volunteers were asked to answer questions about their diet, hygiene, and behaviour. Participants were then invited to place their hands into a special box containing mosquitoes. The box had small holes, allowing the insects to smell human scent without actually biting.
Using cameras, the team recorded how many mosquitoes landed on each hand and how long they stayed. The results were surprising: people who had consumed beer were found to be 1.35 times more attractive to mosquitoes. The study also showed that mosquitoes were more drawn to people who had shared a bed with someone the night before, used little or no sunscreen, or did not bathe regularly.
The Beer-Mosquito Connection
According to the researchers, mosquitoes are not directly attracted to the alcohol itself, but to the changes in body odour that result from drinking beer. Felix Hol explained that beer drinkers often behave differently, dancing more, sweating more, which alters their body scent. This shift in odour appears to be highly attractive to mosquitoes.
Even more remarkably, the study found that mosquitoes can detect human scent from as far as 350 feet (over 100 metres) away. So, if someone has been drinking and their body odour has changed, they may attract mosquitoes from a considerable distance.
Limitations And Further Research
The scientists acknowledged some limitations in their findings. Since festivalgoers are typically young and in good health, further research is needed involving participants of different ages and health backgrounds to confirm whether these results apply more broadly.