205 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
205 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
science
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science-news
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7914613
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-----
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# Women 'more likely to fuss about midge bites'
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## Women are more likely to make a fuss about midge bites than men because
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they are "more aware of their skin," new research suggests.
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![Tall men and fat women 'most likely to get bitten by midges'][1]
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A scanning electron micrograph of the head of a midge Photo: PA
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[![][2]][3]
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By [Heidi Blake][4] 7:30AM BST 29 Jul 2010
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[Comments][5]
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A study found that human attractiveness to the bloodsucking insects is
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hereditary, and that women have a stronger reaction to the bites than men.
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It also showed than larger women are more likely to get bitten because they
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give out more heat, moisture and chemicals that attract midges.
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Tall men were similarly susceptible because they are most likely to cross the
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paths of midges, most of which fly at a height of two metres from the ground.
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Scientists from Aberdeen University and the Rothamsted Research Institute in
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Hertfordshire conducted a survey of more than 300 athletes and spectators at a
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race around the shores of Loch Ness, which is notorious for clouds of midges.
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They found that some people consistently got bitten more than others, while 14
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per cent of people never got bitten at all. Scientists believe that some
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people are born producing skin chemicals that repel the insects.
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## Related Articles
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* [Tall men and fat women 'most likely to get bitten by midges'][6]
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28 Jul 2010
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* [Don't let the midges bug you][7]
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07 Aug 2006
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* [Midge trap offers hope in Highlands][8]
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01 Aug 2000
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* [Midges cast hungry eyes on England][9]
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11 May 2008
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"Midges find us through the volatiles coming off our skin and also our breath
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- our carbon dioxide," said Professor Jenny Mordue, who led the study.
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"We found women's reaction to the bites was worse than men's, but that may be
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because women are more aware of their skin than men."
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The study, which will be published in the British Medical Council's Public
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Health Journal next year, dismissed a number of popular methods of repelling
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midges, such as eating strongly flavoured foods like garlic and onions, which
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it says have no effect.
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[X][10] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][11]
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* Share: [Share][10] [ ][12] [ ][13]
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[Tweet][14]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7914613/Women-more-likely-to-
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fuss-about-midge-bites.html
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Telegraph
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## [Science News][15]
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* ### [News »][16]
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* ### [UK News »][17]
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* ### [Health News »][18]
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* ### [Heidi Blake »][3]
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In science
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[![Cosmos Close-Up: wonders of space from our solar system to the edge of the
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Universe][19] ][20]
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### [Cosmos Close-Up][20]
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[![As Nasa calls time on the Mars Rover Spirit mission][21] ][22]
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### [Nasa's Mars rover Spirit][22]
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[![Space shuttle Endeavour's final mission to the International Space
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Station][23] ][24]
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### [Endeavour's final mission][24]
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[![Meet some of the bacteria that make up 90 per cent of the living cells in
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your body][25] ][26]
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### [Meet your bacteria][26]
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[![Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches Under Command Of Astronaut Mark Kelly][27]
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][28]
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[What are these?][11]
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Share:
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* [ ][10]
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* [ ][12]
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* [ ][13]
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* [Tweet][14]
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* Advertisement
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![][29]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][30] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][31]
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var puffs_8255319 = new Array();
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