Dubstep Music Found To Protect Against Mosquito Bites, Says Study

According to a new study published in the journal Acta Tropica, listening to electronic music -- specifically dubstep, produced by U.S. artist Skrillex -- could protect against mosquito bites. The BBC reports: Sound is 'crucial for reproduction, survival, and population maintenance of many animals,' says a team of international scientists specializing in mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. They subjected adults of the species Aedes aegypti, known as the yellow fever mosquito, to electronic music to see whether it could work as a repellent. Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites, a track by Skrillex which features on his Grammy-award winning album of the same name, was chosen because of its mix of very high and very low frequencies.

'In insects, low-frequency vibrations facilitate sexual interactions, whereas noise disrupts the perception of signals from conspecifics [members of the same species] and hosts,' the scientists said. Female adult mosquitoes were 'entertained' by the track and attacked hosts later and less often than those in a dubstep-free environment. Scientists said 'the occurrence of blood feeding activity was lower when music was being played.' The scientists also found that mosquitoes exposed to the song had sex 'far less often' than mosquitoes without music. 'The observation that such music can delay host attack, reduce blood feeding, and disrupt mating provides new avenues for the development of music-based personal protective and control measures against Aedes-borne diseases.'

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