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Dubstep Music Found To Protect Against Mosquito Bites, Says Study (bbc.com)

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."

99 comments

  1. Grammy award by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Funny

    Perhaps the Grammy awards can have a new category for best insect repellent.

    1. Re:Grammy award by gtall · · Score: 1

      I don't know, I checked it out on Amazon's clips and thought it merely repellent. Sort of like Eat Static with no artistry meets Rap.

    2. Re:Grammy award by gtvr · · Score: 3, Funny

      The good news is dubstep acts as a mosquito repellent. The bad news is, people would be forced to listen to dubstep.

    3. Re:Grammy award by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1

      The cure is worse than the disease.

    4. Re:Grammy award by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Beats listening to it.

    5. Re:Grammy award by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It does tend to get buggy down at the senior center.

    6. Re:Grammy award by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      The good news is dubstep acts as a mosquito repellent. The bad news is, people would be forced to listen to dubstep.

      My larger question is.....what IS dubstep?

      ;)

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    7. Re:Grammy award by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The good news is dubstep acts as a mosquito repellent. The bad news is, people would be forced to listen to dubstep.

      I figured it'd work because everyone would be inside so they wouldn't have to listen to dubstep.

    8. Re:Grammy award by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Could you imagine a Beowulf cluster of smartphone speakers for everyone in the countries affected by these mozzies?

    9. Re:Grammy award by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      Like this, but made by people who spend a lot of money on electronics and gym memberships so the audience don’t realise they’re listening to annoying rhythmic noises. https://youtu.be/nbOPUzT51kI

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    10. Re:Grammy award by malkavian · · Score: 1

      To record your own Dubstep track, fill an old washing machine with typewriters and push it down a long set of stairs.

  2. F*ckit.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    .. I'd rather take my chances against the mozzies!

  3. This story is a day late... by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 1

    Or 365 days early, (if I counted right, there’s a February 29th between now and the next April first).

    Also, if this weren’t an April Moron-Day joke, I would have to weigh being bitten by mosquitos and risking contracting various mosquito-borne illnesses against having to listen to dubstep. Not sure which is worse.

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
    1. Re: This story is a day late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Skrillex!=Dubstep

    2. Re:This story is a day late... by Freischutz · · Score: 2

      Or 365 days early, (if I counted right, there’s a February 29th between now and the next April first).

      Also, if this weren’t an April Moron-Day joke, I would have to weigh being bitten by mosquitos and risking contracting various mosquito-borne illnesses against having to listen to dubstep. Not sure which is worse.

      Don't complain, it could have been 1940s German umpapa music.

    3. Re:This story is a day late... by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 1

      This story is a day late...

      No it isn't. Look at the dateline on top of that BBC the article. It was indeed published yesterday.

      Yeah thanks to the wonder of "journalists" copying and linking each other without fact checking, nowadays April first lasts until July :-)

    4. Re: This story is a day late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, and
      Elvis != Rock and Roll

      Its true that he played rock and roll (and gospel, and blues, and pop) but ultimately Elvis was a Rock and Roll singer.

      And Skrillex composes (drops?) dubstep.

      I mean, its not even recent. This is 8 years old!

      https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/29/skrillex-dubstep-interview

    5. Re:This story is a day late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or you could look at the actual journal article, which is from march 25th

      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30922800

    6. Re: This story is a day late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He made what he and quite possibly Yanks in general believe to be Dubstep, doesn't mean it is.

    7. Re: This story is a day late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do realize that the english have never really been good at being gracious with culture right? The Americans invented rock and roll and we allow you to say Bob Dylan is 'rock' or 'folk'. We let the Belgians have Stormae and call it 'rap'. Hell we even allow rap to be called Hip Hop. If its in any way english, and it wasn't done by a Proper English(wo)man, its shit. Especially if its by the yanks, ebcause, you know, the child country that is better than the parent country, at least when it comes to military and music, the two things the english feel Superior about. (I didn't say Brits because the scots treat everyone with scorn, even themselves. Very french of them.)

      Skrillex was dubstep. Thats just a fact. Wikiepdia editors even allowed it and some of them are londoners... You can call it brostep. And I'll accept that if I can call you a fucking idiot for allowing the Brexit. Deal?

    8. Re:This story is a day late... by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 1

      Or 365 days early, (if I counted right, there’s a February 29th between now and the next April first).

      Also, if this weren’t an April Moron-Day joke, I would have to weigh being bitten by mosquitos and risking contracting various mosquito-borne illnesses against having to listen to dubstep. Not sure which is worse.

      Don't complain, it could have been 1940s German umpapa music.

      I am gratefully unaware of what German umpapa music is, and I'm going to resist the natural temptation of curiosity to look it up. Lalalalalalalalla....

      --
      Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  4. BBC fools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47769857

  5. Wrong conclusion/statement by blindvic · · Score: 1

    Dubstep Music Found To Protect Against Mosquito Bites

    It's like saying that insecticides protect humans against insects.
    The conclusion should be that Dubstep music is harmful for mosquitos. And other animals, for example humans.

    1. Re:Wrong conclusion/statement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's more like the cure is worse than the disease.

  6. Never post seroius stuff at this time of the year by ukoda · · Score: 1

    It's 7pm on the 2nd of April here at GMT+13, but still 1st April in the last time zones. Really annoying to have to put up it April's Fools jokes a whole day later.

    The whole thing reads like a joke yet the links appear real and the paper appears to have been published on the 25th March. If you are really going to do such bizarre research the get a clue and don't publish in late March...

  7. If it isn't an April Fools joke... by brinkie · · Score: 3

    ...then it's surely a candidate for an Ig Noble Prize!

    --
    Omnis basim vester nobis compete sunt.
  8. Re:Checked the date on the article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Half ass "fact-check"... BBC article might be from Aprils 1st but the study was published March 25th.

    This is a very good example of Dunning–Kruger effect, thinking yourself too smart for your own good and falling quite short of it.

  9. Sex? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't know that the procreation of these little bastards hinged on proximity to humans, thinking they'd get in the jungle to do their thing. Or are there plans to blare music in country-sized territories? Otherwise, the bugs missing out on mating _in your house_ doesn't sound like effective pest control.

  10. Only the mosquitoes? by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    "The scientists also found that mosquitoes exposed to the song had sex "far less often" than mosquitoes without music."

    s/mosquitoes/humans/g

    Dubstep may be many things, but a romantic turn on it ain't.

    1. Re:Only the mosquitoes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn right. I actually enjoy dubstep, too, but when it comes time to fuck, I change over to jazz.

    2. Re:Only the mosquitoes? by syn3rg · · Score: 1

      Marvin, Barry, and Reverend Al for me.

      Maybe even a ginger or two ...

      --
      The contents of this message have been doubly encrypted by ROT13
  11. Playing Justin Beiber on a continuous loop... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..also keeps anybody with an IQ above 10 away!

  12. This is a knowledgable post. Great Got to know different aspects of listening to electronic music.

  13. I'm suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...nobody had mentioned the "mosquito" high pitched noisemaker that is supposed to keep teenage hoodlums from hanging around the front of your store. I'm 42 and I am still able to hear and be irritated by the damn things.

      I haven't seen this system in use for a while, so I'm thinking business have wised up and switched to using classical music, or polka to stop teens from loitering.

  14. the music is shit - its obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the mosquitoes stayed the fuck away so they couldn't hear it
    thus no one got bitten

  15. He's also ... no true Scotsman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can do that too!:

    Dubstep != music.

    1. Re: He's also ... no true Scotsman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That maybe true but doesn't detract from the fact that Skrillex doesn't make Dubstep.

  16. Polka's cool again! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Weird Al always made it likable.
    Gypsies too.
    But hipsters got it "fashionable" again.

  17. Spaghetti-Harvest in Ticino by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And of course, BBC: Spaghetti-Harvest in Ticino (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU)

    I like that at the end of the page it states: "Why you can trust BBC News".

  18. Re:Checked the date on the article... by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    Plus: Ultrasonic mosquito repellents have been around for decades.

    --
    No sig today...
  19. Is it really so surprising by mobby_6kl · · Score: 5, Funny

    That mosquitos, too, are repulsed by dubstep?

    1. Re:Is it really so surprising by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      I still have no idea what "dubstep" actually is. I just tried listening to a Skrillex song and couldn't even make it through a full minute.

    2. Re:Is it really so surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Take synthwave, make it more electronic, add some vocals (often only a few lines), add a few more vocals that get chopped up and processed electronically, and that's about it. Synthwave is simply synth music instruments, most often arranged in a pleasant almost muzak sort of way. Personally listening to at least one of Skrillex song's I find there's much pleasing but indistinct synthwave influence. Good dubstep should have enough variety to keep you interested, as unlikely other songs there isn't variety of lyrics to spice up the song when the music itself is mundane.

    3. Re:Is it really so surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      there isn't variety of lyrics to spice up the song when the music itself is mundane

      Agreed. Most of today's music would be absolute crap if it wasn't for the brilliant lyrics.

    4. Re:Is it really so surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn Poe's law...

    5. Re:Is it really so surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's... vaporwave? Dubstep is the heavily syncopated drum-and-bass derivative with a lot of "wub wub wub" sounds.

    6. Re:Is it really so surprising by techm · · Score: 1

      LOL beat me to it. Honestly dubstep has ruined percussion for a decade now, it needs to go away. Far away. I'd rather get mosquito bites.

  20. Re:Checked the date on the article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you 'checked the date' but failed to read even a couple short paragraphs in...

    So here is our round-up of 10 bizarre stories that are - apparently - true:

    the mosquito story is 3rd in the list. number 1 was elon's new rap.. which we all know is a thing.

  21. Skrillex thanks you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Duckduckgoing "Skrillex dubstep" now returns mostly articles about Skrillex music being mosquito repellant.

  22. No news.. by Unnamed+Chickenheart · · Score: 1

    Skrillex's "music" kills my sex drive too! =,^ )

    --
    urd
    1. Re:No news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It must be the "music" or the intense uncontrolled vomitting

    2. Re:No news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, the music DOES induce uncontrolled vomitting...you too, huh?

    3. Re:No news.. by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      systemd did that for me already.

  23. Re:"Shanghai" Bill is a known liar many times over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Bill got caught lying 12-25 times

    Well....it sounds like you've been keeping track. How many is it?

    t "The Chinese Govt does not directly censor Chinese citizens"

    What is censorship? I don't believe the Chinese governtment CAN directly censor citizens. Do they follow them around with a black bar and put it over the comic sans font above the users head?

    I think we all know what you mean but words matter.

    In other words
    show us proof of 12-25 lies (and then make it a specific number, not hyperbolic ranges) or it didn't happen, and until then we'll all see you as a butt-hurt idiot in his mom's basement upset about someone who posts on slashdot.

  24. lots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    1. Re:lots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not ShanghaiBill. And as far as I can tell in the two links I bothered to click on in your wall of links - Windbourne is backing his statements up with public numbers even if you don't like them.

      Are you one of those AC who commented on his shit? You must be. I don't see you backing up your shit against his shit with verifiable facts, and I also see an AC who probably thinks about nothing but hating other people on the internet. I'll bet you're one of those people who scream "FUCK OFF AND DIE FAGGOT" on video games or get a new twitter account every other week to spew crap at people and complain about SJW and etc?

      Also. Get a life.

    2. Re:lots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Looks like you might have found yet another case of APK posting more unsigned crap of his.

  25. Protects against Reproduction as well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Dubstep" is shit.

  26. April fools by SurenEnfiajyan · · Score: 1

    The date of this article is 1 April 2019.

    1. Re:April fools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn, you are right :(

  27. Re:Checked the date on the article... by turp182 · · Score: 2

    My reviews of mosquito repellents.

    Ultrasonic = Ineffective

    Thermacell products (some chemical released by battery power) = Ineffective

    Citronella = Not Effective

    Picaridin = Slightly effective, enough to notice

    Deet = Effective. 25% for the kids, 50-100% for me in the summer.

    Battery powered tennis racket bug killer = Effective and the most fun (doesn't hurt much when directly killing)!

    In total I've spent well over a year camping outside. Deet is the answer unless one wants to play tennis.

    --
    BlameBillCosby.com
  28. Re: Checked the date on the article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Iâ(TM)d rather not put that crap on my skin; or breath it in while applying.

  29. April Frikken Morons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can the world stop this stupidity please. Not everyone is in the same timezone as the stupid Americans.

  30. Goes to show... by SoundGuyNoise · · Score: 1

    No one gets laid to Skrillex.

    --
    You never expect irony, do you?
    Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
    @iyfwrestling
    1. Re:Goes to show... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No one gets laid to Skrillex.

      LOL, I have. :-P

    2. Re:Goes to show... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No one gets laid to Skrillex.

      LOL, I have. :-P

      Your hand doesn't count.

  31. Re: Checked the date on the article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A salt shotgun is also a fun way to unleash fury on those vampires.

  32. Even i am repelled. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No wonder mosquitos run, i wonder what else runs when hearing this kind of music.

  33. Re:Checked the date on the article... by TheRealQuestor · · Score: 1

    I've been blessed with something in my skin or in my blood that mosquito hate. I honestly can't remember the last time I've been bitten by one. I was a magnet for them when was young but now nada.
    My pals hate it lol. We all went to a park down here last year when they were out pretty heavy and my buds were getting bit left and right. You could see 6 or so on their [my pals] backs/arms at any given time. Not one bite on me. They always ask when I use and I just say nothing. Now gnats, gnats are a different story :( But down here mosquitos tend to get as big as small jumbo jets all black with white stripes. They look a lot like the ones in Florida only BIGGER. For reference I live about 8 miles north of the Mexican border in south Texas.

  34. Re:Checked the date on the article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've heard garlic in your diet can do this.

  35. Re:Checked the date on the article... by SunTzuWarmaster · · Score: 1

    Depends on the use case - I have found live citronella plants *extremely* effective at entrances/exits. We now have them at every entrance/exit at my work, to my homes' screened in porch, and to the front door. We went from ~5 conference room mosquitos/day to 0 with a couple of plants.

  36. well then by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    The scientists also found that mosquitoes exposed to the song had sex "far less often" than mosquitoes without music.

    I guess that could explain the self-limiting nature of the 90s ...

  37. Re:Checked the date on the article... by max99ted · · Score: 1

    https://mec.imgix.net/medias/s...

    This stuff is the best I've tried. I do fishing up in Northern Quebec and it's the only thing I've found to keep black flies manageable.

    --

    Please stop APK.. you're only hurting yourself.

  38. Insect Population Decline by kackle · · Score: 1

    Could the cars' bass speakers (more powerful than ever) be contributing to insect population decline? I wouldn't mind banning those.

    1. Re:Insect Population Decline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The amplifiers and speakers are producing ultrasonic noise which humans can't hear but insects can, so probably contributing to their decline.

  39. On the other hand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Play some Barry White however...

  40. Re:Checked the date on the article... by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

    I have read that different blood types are more appealing; when we're camping I don't notice the mosquitos until my wife goes into the tent.

  41. Thanks but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd rather have the malaria.

  42. Re: Checked the date on the article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dubstep also protects you from cancer.

  43. Personally, by J-1000 · · Score: 1

    I choose mosquitoes.

    1. Re:Personally, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the Yellow Fever!

  44. I've watched Deadpool 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dubstep also repels time-travelling mercenaries hellbent on personal revenge.

  45. Re:"Shanghai" Bill is a known liar many times over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Replying to an AC is kind of pointless, but I'll do it anyway. I disagree with ShanghaiBIll often. But that said, whether or not he lies occasionally, as most people on /. do, has nothing to do with the parent comment. He made a joke, which relied on an opinion, not any kind of statement of fact.

  46. Maybe it stops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Human reproduction as well...

  47. Re:Checked the date on the article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I take a garlic supplement daily starting in the Spring and ending in late Fall. No more bites for me! I think I've had two mosquito bites in the last 3 years.

  48. Timezone Issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think we have a problem with the scheduled time at which articles get released. This one was clearly a day late.

  49. Re:Checked the date on the article... by syn3rg · · Score: 1
    --
    The contents of this message have been doubly encrypted by ROT13
  50. Re:"Shanghai" Bill is a known liar many times over by pjt33 · · Score: 1

    Don't feed the trolls.

  51. Personally useless. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would rather get bit by mosquitoes

  52. Of Course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even the bugs don't want to listen to that crap.

  53. Also an excellent human repellant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Repels humans even more effectively.

  54. verb fag attempt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did you really just try to verb web searching with an inferior web search engine? Such a fag.

  55. no not Bill, WindBourne lies much more by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every single one of those links goes straight to a WindBourne lie.
    But you obviously have a similar agenda to him and conveniently fail to realize his lies. How convenient for you.

    No idea about your current topic, just like to let people know how much of a liar WindBourne is. You seemed to be interested in lies, but it turns out you aren't. Carry on with your hiding from the truth then.

  56. Re:Checked the date on the article... by reboot246 · · Score: 1

    I've been taking garlic supplements and cooking with garlic (I love the taste) for over fifteen years. I can't remember the last time I was bitten by a mosquito. The experts and their research will tell you that it doesn't work, but I am living proof that it does.