Are mosquitos a worldwide phenomenon, or just a pesky pest here in the US?
Now that it’s full-on summer — and in honor of the forthcoming July 4th festivities — here’s a tip to avoid getting bitten.
According to interestingfacts.com, beer is their favorite beverage. Read on:
“There are a few ways to avoid the itch-inducing bites of summer’s biggest pest: the mosquito. Wearing long-sleeved apparel and dousing yourself in insect repellent can help, but avoiding some beverages — particularly alcohol — might further protect you. According to a 2010 study of mosquito biting preferences, beer makes humans more attractive to the paltry pests.
Researchers found that Anopheles gambiae, a mosquito species in the genus responsible for transmitting malaria, were more attracted to humans who had consumed beer (compared to those who consumed only water), and the results were evident as soon as 15 minutes after the humans began drinking. Other studies have produced similar findings; one examination of alcohol’s role in mosquito meal choices found that those who imbibed just one 12-ounce beer were more likely to be pestered by the insects. It’s unclear why beer primes humans to become bite victims, though some scientists believe it could be partly linked to body temperature; alcohol expands the blood vessels, a process that slightly increases the skin temperature and also makes us sweat — two factors that may attract more hungry mosquitoes.
For being such tiny insects, mosquitoes are incredibly effective in their ability to feast on larger prey. Their proboscises — aka mouths — are created from a complex system that includes six needlelike mouthparts called stylets; when a mosquito bites, the stylets are used to hunt for nearby blood vessels. That makes a mosquito’s job of finding food quick and easy work — a necessity when dinner comes with a risk of being swatted.”
Unless you die young, you’re likely to grow old. And although this is not without challenges, there are numerous upsides including financial security, learning to say “no” to people, experiences or activities you simply don’t enjoy, and the resultant contentment that comes from being true to yourself.
Credit: Heritage Images/ Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images
A common misconception is that our predecessors lived brutish lives cut short by disease and war. While modern medicine has certainly expanded life expectancy, many people in the past lived as long as people live today. For example, some ancient Roman offices sought by politically ambitious men couldn’t even be held until someone was 30.
When scientists analyzed the pelvis joints (a reliable indicator of age) in skeletons from ancient civilizations, they found that many people lived long lives. One study of skeletons from Cholula, Mexico, between 900 and 1531 CE found that a majority of specimens lived beyond the age of 50. Low life expectancy in ancient times was more the result of high infant mortality rates than of people living unusually short lives. Modern science has helped more humans survive our vulnerable childhood years and life expectancy averages have risen as a result.
The amount of sleep each of us needs is only altered during childhood and adolescence as our bodies require more energy to do the tough work of growing. Once we’re in our 20s, humans require the same amount of sleep per night for the rest of our lives (though the exact number of hours differs from person to person). In fact, the elderly are more likely to be sleep-deprived because they receive lower-quality sleep caused by sickness, pain, medications, or a trip or two to the bathroom. This can be why napping during the day becomes more common as we grow older.
While we’re likely to get shorter as we age, some bones keep growing. A 2008 study for Duke University revealed that skull bones continue to grow, with the forehead moving forward and cheek bones moving backward. Unfortunately, this imperceptible bit of facial movement exacerbates wrinkles, because as the skull shifts forward, the overlying skin sags.
The pelvis also keeps growing throughout our lives. Scientists analyzing the pelvic width of 20-year-olds compared to 79-year-olds found a 1-inch difference in width, which adds an additional 3 inches to your waistband. That means our widening in the middle as we age isn’t our imagination — or about a slower metabolism.
While our hips get bigger, our pupils get smaller. The human pupil is controlled by the circumferential sphincter and iris dilator muscles, which weaken as we get older. Because of this loss of muscle function, pupils get smaller as we age, and are also less responsive to light. Smaller pupils make it harder to see at night (hello, reading a menu in a dark restaurant?!), so people in their 60s need three times as much light to read comfortably as people in their 20s.
Although the body experiences some slowing down as we age, growing old isn’t all bad news. Researchers from the University of Queensland found that older people had stronger immunities than people in their 20s, as the body keeps a repository of illnesses that can stretch back decades. This extra line of defense begins to drop off in our 70s and 80s, but until then, our bodies generally just get better and better at fighting off disease due to biological experience. Additionally, as we age we experience fewer migraines, the severity of allergies declines, and we produce less sweat. Older people also exhibit higher levels of “crystalized intelligence” (or what some might call “wisdom”) than any other age group.
If age is just a number, in the cosmic view human age is rather insignificant. The atoms that make up the human body are already billions of years old. For example, hydrogen — one of the key components of our bodies — formed in the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. Likewise, carbon, the primary component of all known life, formed in the fiery cauldron of stars at least 7 billion years ago.
Which, comparatively speaking, makes us all universally young. I find that strangely comforting!
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