Scientists are making progress in deciphering the complex chemical cocktail that makes certain individuals more appealing to disease-carrying mosquitoes.

"It’s not a misconception; mosquitoes are indeed more attracted to some people than others," Frédéric Simard, a medical entomologist at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), told Agence France-Presse (AFP). "However, we aren`t all equally attractive (to mosquitoes) all the time."

A variety of sensory cues can lead mosquitoes to favor one person over another—most notably the odors and heat emitted by our bodies, as well as the carbon dioxide we release when we exhale.

Female mosquitoes—the only ones that bite—detect these signals using highly sensitive sensory receptors and select their targets accordingly.

"We have known for over a century that mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide we exhale," Swedish scientist Rickard Ignell told AFP. "It is the primary signal that triggers their behavior."

Ignell, who recently authored a study on the subject, noted that mosquitoes begin to "detect our scent" from as far as ten meters away, with carbon dioxide further enhancing their attraction.

As they draw closer, body heat and humidity make certain individuals even more appealing to mosquitoes.