Hate mosquito bites? New research suggests wearing certain colors could make you a target
CBSN
Mosquito bites are an unfortunate inevitability of summertime — or are they? Scientists recently found that mosquitos are more attracted to some colors than others, which could potentially prove useful to those trying to avoid the itchy bites.
The study, which was published Friday, found that after a common type of mosquitos smelled CO2 — the gas humans breathe out — they decided to land on some colored dots but ignored others.
"Imagine you're on a sidewalk and you smell pie crust and cinnamon," senior author Jeffrey Riffell, a professor of biology at the University of Washington, said in a press release announcing the study's findings. "That's probably a sign that there's a bakery nearby, and you might start looking around for it. Here, we started to learn what visual elements that mosquitoes are looking for after smelling their own version of a bakery."
On May 7, health influencer Paul Saladino, M.D.. posted a video to his X account that promoted feeding "raw dairy" to infants. The post received over 90,000 views and sparked strong backlash before it was removed the following day. Saladino regularly advocates for "animal-based" diets featuring raw milk, including on his TikTok channel where he has over half a million followers.
Everywhere you look, things are getting more complicated. Our phones have over a thousand settings. Showerheads come with apps. Cars have touchscreens. Ovens have touchscreens. "There's no doubt that 'featuritis' is real," said design consultant Jakob Nielsen. "Most of these things are too complicated."
New research is adding to the evidence linking ultra-processed foods to health concerns. The study tracked people's habits over 30 years and found those who reported eating more of certain ultra-processed foods had a slightly higher risk of death — with four categories of foods found to be the biggest culprits.