New research suggests why mosquitoes are more attracted to some people than others

It's the perennial debate of the summer barbecue - why do mozzies enjoy the taste of some people so much more than others?

Now, some new research claims it has the answer.

And it turns out it might literally come down to chemistry.

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Researchers from Rockefeller University in the US tested mosquito attraction to human skin odour to try to establish a common link between the people that were "exceptionally attractive or unattractive" to mosquitoes.

"Chemical analysis revealed that highly attractive people produce significantly more carboxylic acids in their skin emanations," the study authors said.

Even "mutant" mosquitoes who were impaired in their ability to analyse human skin were able to differentiate between attractive and unattractive people.

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And you can even thank (or curse) your parents for how tasty you seem to the disease-carrying bloodsuckers.

The amount of carboxylic acid in a person's skin remains quite stable over their whole life, indicating it's likely determined by genetics.

Unfortunately, that means there's not much you can do to change how edible you are to the local mozzie population, but the researchers hope their findings can be used to help develop better repellents.

Mosquitoes carry diseases including Ross River fever, dengue fever, and malaria.

It's estimated that globally, mosquitoes are responsible for almost one million human deaths every year, making them one of the planet's biggest killers.