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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."

39 of 99 comments (clear)

  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 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.........
    5. 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

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    6. 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. 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 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.

    2. 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 :-)

    3. 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.
  3. BBC fools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

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

  4. 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.

  5. 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...

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

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

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    Omnis basim vester nobis compete sunt.
  7. 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.

  8. 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 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
  9. This is a knowledgable post. Great Got to know different aspects of listening to electronic music.

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

    Plus: Ultrasonic mosquito repellents have been around for decades.

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    No sig today...
  11. 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 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.

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

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

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

      systemd did that for me already.

  13. April fools by SurenEnfiajyan · · Score: 1

    The date of this article is 1 April 2019.

  14. 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
  15. 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.

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

    No one gets laid to Skrillex.

    --
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    @iyfwrestling
  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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 ...

  20. 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.

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

  21. 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.

  22. 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.

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

    I choose mosquitoes.

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

    Don't feed the trolls.

  26. 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.