Arriving in the forest or park of friends, it can be noted that some constantly dismiss blood -sucking insects, and the others seem to not notice others. It is believed that the “appetizing” for mosquitoes determines the blood type. We decided to check if this theory has a scientific rationale.
Mosquito bites can be not only unpleasant, but also dangerous. Insects Contact Diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, Zika fever, Denge fever, dirofilariasis. Because of this, by calculations Scientists, in the entire history of mankind, mosquitoes caused deaths almost half of 108 billion people who lived on our planet. They write about the relationship of human blood type and its attractiveness for mosquitoes Lenta.ru, Gazeta.ru, "Moscow Komsomolets". Like question Users also set for forums.
Only female mosquitoes drink blood, males eat exclusively by the nectar of colors. The females, in order to get the required amount of proteins for laying eggs, Required More energetically rich food than plant sugars. Blood groups according to the most common classification (ABO system) Differ By what antigens are contained on the surface of red blood cells.
The first studies on the relationship of blood group and its attractiveness for insects dates back to the 1980s. In 1972, scientists notedthat the blood from the stomachs of recently eating females of mosquitoes of the species Anopheles Gambiae, living in the countries of Africa south of Sahara, most often belongs to the first (O) group.
However, their conclusions were called into question for others observation: Among 736 patients with malaria, the distribution over blood groups was very different from the usual in the population. Patients basically had a second (A) group, while people from the first (O) were much less. Then the scientists suggested that since malaria is tolerated by mosquitoes, then with the greatest frequency they bite people with the second blood group.
After an experiment with malarial patients, a group of scientists from Edinburgh University under the leadership of Alex Rowe was able to find an explanation of this contradictory data - they provedthat people with the first (O) blood group are less susceptible to the difficult course of malaria.
And in 2004, a group of scientists under the leadership of Shirai Yoshiraya Confirmed The findings of the first study, having managed to "deceive" mosquitoes. In addition to the simple calculation of the bitten and the analysis of their blood group, the researchers processed the skin of the forearms in the control group with specific carbohydrates (di- and trisaccharides) responsible for each of the groups so that the skin surface “informed” the mosquitoes about a different blood group than in fact. The insects eventually preferred the disaccharide of the first (O) blood group (antigen h) Trisacharidis of the second (a) blood group (Antigen a) and Trisaccharide of the third (c) blood group (antigen b). The relative percentage of landings for carbohydrates of the first group (O) amounted to (83.3%), while the second (A) group attracted insects only (46.5%). True, in the experiment only the taste addictions of Aedes albopictus - Asian tiger mosquitoes were studied.
Moreover, not only a blood type plays a role in choosing a victim. Mosquitoes have a thin sense of smell, so their attracts A whole set of smells emanating from a person: the smell of lactic acid, ammonia, acetone, sulcathone and some carbon acids, as well as substances secreted by skin microflora. It is worth noting that the composition of the skin microflora in a person can be different. Scientists noted Pattern: the more diverse the subject has the number of bacteria, the more attractive it looks for a mosquito. The composition of the microflora depends not only on external causes (the frequency of hand washing, objects to which a person touches), but also on internal (the intensity of sweating and the release of sebum, as well as from how much sweat contains bacteria attracting bacteria). These properties depend on genetics.
To confirm these conclusions, scientists Compared, whether the yellow -bearing mosquitoes of the type of Aedes aegypti will give the preference for the genetic material to one of the pairs of the same -tie and multi -tier twins. Among people with the same set of genes (one -eating twins), mosquitoes did not demonstrate such preferences, but “the most delicious” was chosen from the material of the pair.
Thus, it is scientifically proven that mosquitoes of at least two types really prefer the first blood group, but this is not the only determining factor for them when choosing a victim.
Most of the truth
Read on the topic:
- Mosquitoes are burned with a laser, deprived of offspring and tormented by dabstep. Now scientists have come up with another way to neutralize insects - Grafen
- Myths about mosquitoes: do blood -sucking have “taste preferences”?
- Do mosquitoes like the blood of a drunk person?
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