Scientist lets thousands of mosquitoes bite him

Dr Perran Stott-Ross inserts his arm inside the cage through a mesh stocking. Pics/Perran Stott-Ross, Facebook

Think about how itchy your arm gets when a mosquito bites you. Dr Perran Stott-Ross lets thousands of mosquitoes bite his arm regularly and resists the urge to scratch thereafter. "Sometimes it can sting a little bit if they get you in the right spot, but mostly it's just a slight irritation. It's absolutely itchy later. As soon as I take my arm out, I have to resist the urge to scratch," he told Science Alert.

He is a studying how to eradicate Dengue

Stott-Ross is an entomologist from the University of Melbourne; he is conducting research on eradicating dengue fever. The scientist has been involved in mosquito research for many years now, trying to find effective ways of curbing the spread of dengue.

A picture of his arm during

It passes between humans via mosquitoes. One of the most promising strategies has been infecting swarms of mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacteria that naturally blocks the transmission of dengue fever. In order to further research in this direction, he has to monitor thousands of blood-sucking mosquitoes. As a part of that monitoring, he offers his own arm to them.

A feeding session. Pics/@MosWhisperer, Twitter

"Record day of mosquito blood feeding today. ~5000 female mosquitoes fed and 16 ml of blood lost," Stott-Ross captioned one of his most-liked photos on Twitter.

5,000
Number of mosquitoes who bit Dr Perran Stott-Ross during a feeding session

Why make it when you can fake it?

Social media influencers have been exposed for renting a studio that looks like a private jet to look rich on the Internet

Pic/peerspace.com

The higher you fly, the steeper your fall. Many popular TikTok and Instagram influencers have been exposed for faking their posh lifestyles by renting a Los Angeles-based studio that has been designed to look like the inside of a private jet. These influencers include the likes of Kennedy Cymone, who has 16 lakh followers on Instagram, and the 7 Angels, who have over 2.7 lakh followers on TikTok.

A list of such influencers started doing the rounds on Twitter. Twitterati did their fair share of digging to find out that the studio was located in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The studio was available for rent to groups of up to nine people. It would cost one $64 (Rs 4,700 approx.) an hour. "First in Los Angeles, rental photo studio with unique private jet (airplane) set and artificial window lights. Per multiple requests," read the studio's online description on Peerspace.

Be your own barista

Representation pic

Nearly half of the 2,000 coffee drinkers surveyed by a coffee brand, Mr. Coffee, revealed that they became 'quaristas' (baristas during the quarantine). The survey showed that 49 per cent of the respondents have used all the time they spent at home developing their coffee-making skills. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of the respondents said that they have so much faith in their newfound talent, they plan to continue using it to make coffee in their own kitchen rather than visiting coffee shops even after the pandemic is over.

Statue or tattoo?

Pic/@mrtstucklife, Instagram

A Swedish tattoo artiste, who goes by mrT stucklife on Instagram, is getting a lot of attention for his statuesque, black and white tattoos. He has an impressive portfolio of designs, but it is his hyper-realistic, statuesque tattoos, that have won him over 25k followers on the social media platform. His masterpieces inspired by Greco-Roman art look as if they have been chiselled onto their wearers' bodies.

Flower Power

Pic/@lucianagonzalezsugarflowers, Instagram

Brazilian confectioner Lucia Gonzalez specialises in creating ultra-realistic sugar flowers. Her works are very delicate and breathtaking in terms of appearance. "I understand why recipes work or why they don't. When needed, I can replace one ingredient with another. I developed an adaptation of the Korean clay paste, with a base of rice flour, which makes the sugar flower more flexible, without melting. I am always looking for solutions," Gonzalez, a civil engineer by training told Sabor Vida.

Heat tourism at an all-time high

Pic/@jasondinanttv, Instagram

While most people prefer to stay indoors when the temperature is running high, tourists are flocking to Nevada's Death Valley in the USA, for a selfie with the thermometer listing one of the hottest recorded temperatures on Earth.

Piles of carrots leave Londoners baffled

Pic/@GeorgeGreenwood, Twitter

Londoners took to social media to share photos of a giant pile of carrots dumped by a truck onto a road via the University of London campus. Apparently, nearly 32 tonnes of carrots were dumped onto the street as an art installation by a student.

Village re-elects mayor who died

Romanian villagers from Deveselu re-elected Ion Aliman as their mayor, except that Aliman passed away after contracting COVID-19. Had he been alive, he would've celebrated his 57th birthday on election day. After handing him the victory, they went to his grave to light candles for him.

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