Are you a mosquito magnet? If so, your genes may be to blame.

New research shows that if mosquitoes are attracted to the scent of a particular person, they are likely to be attracted to her twin's scent as well. On the flip side, if they are repelled by someone's odor, they're likely to find her twin repellent, too.

After testing 37 sets of twins, researchers found that the overlap in mosquito preference was about twice as high for identical twins (who share virtually all their DNA) as it was for fraternal twins (who share only half). That allowed them to calculate that 62 percent to 83 percent of a person's degree of mosquito attractiveness is determined by DNA, according to a study published in the journal PLOS One.

The next step for the research team is to figure out which genes are responsible for mosquito magnetism.

Los Angeles Times