Picture this: you’ve woken up during your first night on holiday somewhere hot. While you were sleeping you had started to itch at a small, hot mark on your shoulder. As you wake yourself up with your scratching, the mark blooms and swells to quadruple the size, resembling a continent. Before long it’s taking everything in your power to not rip your own arm off to relieve the constant, throbbing itch. You eventually fall asleep again but when you wake in the morning and putter into the kitchen you can still sense this angry, swollen beast on your shoulder. Another has popped up, under your elbow and, weirdly, on your forehead. But by the coffee machine, looking well-rested, is your friend who shared your room. As you lament the onslaught from mosquitoes, your friend looks at you, shrugs, and says: “I don’t really get bitten – you must just be delicious to them.”
Mosquito bites can be a major irritation – and in certain regions of the world, raises the risk of tropical diseases such as Zika virus and malaria. If you are such a person who has been dealing with these massively itchy, verging on painful annoyances on your summer holidays – or indeed at home in the UK – you’ve probably asked yourself more than once: “Why me?!”
“The question about why some people get bitten more than others has been asked for as long as people have not only been studying mosquitoes, but being bitten by them,” explains Heather Ferguson from The Royal Entomological Society, a professor of infectious disease ecology at the University of Glasgow. “Today we have some clues why it happens, but we don’t have the entire picture figured out.”
Where and when to see solar eclipse – and do you need glasses?
With the UK set to see a rare partial solar eclipse on Wednesday evening, here is everything you need to know ahead of the event.
What you need to know
- A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, obscuring the Sun’s light for a few minutes.
- Many parts of the country will experience between 89 per cent and 96 per cent coverage of the Sun.
- This year’s eclipse occurs in the evening, starting at around 6.15pm and ending a little after 8pm – depending on your location.
- The next total solar eclipse over the UK will not happen until 23 September 2090.
The best places to view it
People in the south-west of England are likely to get the most coverage.
For the best view, it is important to go high up. In London, this could mean Primrose Hill or the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
There will be events to watch the eclipse all over the country, including at Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Armagh Observatory, Pendennis Castle in Cornwall and the National Space Centre in Leicester.
Do you need glasses?
There has been a last-minute rush for eclipse glasses, with many high street shops and online retailers sold out. Experts have warned that normal sunglasses are not safe to use to view the solar event.
If you want to view the spectacle, you could alternatively use a pinhole camera to project the shadow of the eclipse onto a flat surface.
5 min read
We should smile at our dogs – a new scientific study reveals why
Man’s best friend can distinguish between positive and negative emotions, according to researchers at the University of Vienna.
What you need to know
- Scientists studied 14 dogs who sat in MRI scanners to see what happens in their brains.
- The reward centre of their brains “light up” with activity when shown photos of smiling human faces.
3 min read
What does this mean?
Laura Cuaya, one of the study’s lead researchers, said “This finding suggests that happy faces, even those of strangers, have a positive value for dogs”.
She added: “We can reward our dogs with treats, but also reward them with happiness.”
Firefighters work ‘tirelessly’ to contain fire
Firefighters are beginning a third day of tackling a fire in the New Forest which they say they are “managing to contain” after working “tirelessly” through the night.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service initially scrambled 26 fire engines and four water carriers to the eastbound A31 after receiving 160 emergency calls reporting a van had caught fire on Sunday evening.
How did the fire progress?
The fire service said the blaze spread from the vehicle to the central reservation before progressing into nearby heathland in a south-easterly direction towards Backley Bottom, and is in a “challenging rural location”.
An update released on Tuesday by the fire service said that a change in wind direction had “provided a challenge” overnight but it was managing to prevent “spread and escalation”.
Cows face backdrop of smoke
A closer look at the detail
A total of seven fire engines, with water carriers and off-road vehicles, were involved in the operation overnight, which continued to use water pumped through miles of pipes laid from a nearby lake as part of a high-volume pump (HVP) system.
And the A31 – the main route through the New Forest – remains closed, with National Highways saying that repairs needed to “significant” damage to the road surface can only start once the fire is safely under control.
The story in pictures
What did the fire service say?
Thanks to the efforts of firefighters we are managing to contain the fire. We have been using a mix of fire engines and off-road vehicles to damp down and cool the edges of the area involved in the fire to prevent spread and escalation.
How much parents could save from new school uniform rules
A new law coming into force in September means parents in England will save money by having to buy fewer branded items of school uniform.
What does the new law mean?
From September, uniforms will be limited to three items with a school logo, like a blazer, jumper or sportswear – plus a tie for secondary schools.
The government says the changes will save some families “up to £50 per child”.
How will the law be enforced?
Who is affected?
Around 23 per cent of secondary schools will have to change their uniform lists by September.
How will it be enforced?
The education secretary has legal powers to direct schools to comply.
The rest of the UK
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have a cap on uniform items, but are encoureged to keep uniforms costs minimal.
How England could eliminate hepatitis C
England is “on the cusp” of becoming one of the first countries in the world to eliminate hepatitis C, health officials have said.
What have the health officials said?
Global health leaders have set out plans to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030.
NHS England said the nation is one of a handful of countries globally to have already exceeded the World Health Organisation benchmark of treating 80 per cent of all known cases.
It said that deaths from the virus have reduced by 36 per cent in the last 10 years.
What is hepatitis?
- Hepatitis C is spread through contact with blood infected with the virus.
- Many people have no symptoms but if it is not treated it can cause serious, and potentially life-threatening, liver damage.
- A treatment course of antiviral drugs for eight to 12 weeks cures more than 95 per cent of cases.
- NHS England said that since 2015, more than 100,000 people have been diagnosed and treated for hepatitis C.
The expert view
With C curable in more than nine out of 10 cases, we are committed to finding and treating everyone who needs support and would urge those at greater risk to come forward by ordering a free and confidential home-testing kit online.
Professor Frankie Swords, NHS national medical director
Why August is the worst month for drink driving
August is the worst month of the year for drink-drive crashes as summer events create “more opportunities” to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol, according to new research.
What does the research show?
RAC analysis found an average of 721 people were injured or killed in drink-drive crashes in August between 2014 and 2024.
Before July, there was an average 704 casualties over the 11-year period.
December, which is often associated with drink driving, had an average of 663 casualties.
The expert view
Drink- is often seen more of a Christmas issue, but our shows collisions involving drivers who have consumed illegal levels of alcohol are actually far more common during the summer.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams
Williams added that warmer weather, longer evenings and “festivals and barbecues” create “opportunities and temptation” for people to drink and then get behind the wheel.
5 min read
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Are you having as much sex as everyone else?
It’s natural for libido to wax and wane due to life events, dating status or hormonal changes.
And it can be hard to say what a “normal” sexual frequency is. But research and case studies give us a rough idea.
The statistics
When it happens
61%
A 2023 survey concluded that almost two thirds (61 per cent) of us wait until night-time to have sex.
Only 14 per cent opt to get busy in the early evening, and 10 per cent in the morning.
Research from 2019 suggests that the average number of times British live-in or married couples have sex per month is three.
Are Gen Z having less sex than older people?
I see my partner on the weekends and have sex with others in the week.
Leanne, a 27-year-old influencer from Bristol has sex three or four times a week, but only sees her long-distance partner on the weekends. They have agreed they can both sleep with other people during the week.
35-year-old Rebecca usually sleeps with her partner once or twice per week due to not having much child-free time.
Clare, 32, says her job is busy and she has to schedule sex with her partner on weekends, or some afternoons twice a month. “Occasionally this slips and I do worry that it makes us not as connected,” she says.
I haven’t had the issue of my sex life drying up with menopause. I’m more aroused now.
I’ve been married for 15 years. I love my husband, but our sex life is non-existent, and has been for about five years.
I’m not really motivated to seek out partners; I vaguely like the idea of it but not enough to take any action.
I’ve been married for 20 years and sex has become something of a rarity. We maybe have sex once a week on a Sunday morning as we’re both relaxed and I can take Viagra late on Saturday night – without it, I can’t perform.
JACK, 63, OFFICE WORKER, KENT
The seven rules that could save your marriage
Keep your sense of self
I did what I thought I was supposed to do and forgot my needs and wants. I think it’s really important that you’re an individual and not just a person who is married.
KATIE STRATFORD*, A 55-YEAR-OLD MUM OF TWO, WHO DIVORCED ATER 19 YEARS
Seven rules to save your marriage
The small things
Small things, like being brought a cup of tea or saying thank you, make a big difference.
Karen Deulofeu, who ended her six-year marriage, believes all couples should seek support, even before they think they need it.
Listen properly by repeating what you have heard and ask if you’ve got that right.
Don’t lose communication
People don’t talk about the deep issues; nobody else is going to do it for you. You don’t want to ask questions because it might rock the boat…you have to keep talking, and talk about what it is that you want within the relationship to keep going forward.
KATIE STRATFORD
Seven rules to save your marriage
Remember that things change
“What you see on social media and what friends say is quite often the nice version. Everything is a phase,” says Deulofeu.
Look at yourself first
“Focus on what’s in your control and what you can do differently, rather than the other person or a situation that you can’t control. Invest in understanding yourself,” she adds.
She explains what we currently know about what affects your relative appeal to a mosquito and crucially what we can do about it.
Your genes may play a role
The disparity in mosquito bites is not an imagined problem: there are several factors that seem to coalesce and result in it. “20 per cent of the population get 80 per cent of the exposure. Of course, this doesn’t apply across every insect or every disease, but it’s a general concept that the risk of being exposed to mosquitoes or disease or whatever is rarely spread evenly across the population.”
One of the postulated theories is that your biteability is genetically determined, but there is no established, clear-cut genetic signal at the moment, says Ferguson. She points out that even in genetically linked groups like families, you will see big variations in how often people are being bitten. “It will play a role, but the jury is out on how much genetics contribute to the variation we see”, she adds.
“There is conflicting evidence about blood type too. Blood type is something that has been posited as a reason for a long time, and while some have argued it plays a big role, other studies haven’t completely confirmed that.” In other words, your blood type play a role but it is not necessarily the whole story or even provably significant yet.
Feeling hot and sweaty
What we do know is that mosquitoes are really attracted to heat and carbon dioxide.
“These are both things that we give off when we breathe and when we live, and we know that people who are bigger often attract more mosquitoes than others,” she says. This is because larger bodies have more mass and living tissue – they will typically produce more heat and require a higher baseline metabolic rate to function at rest. However, this is not inherently a question of your BMI: “If you look at the differences between adults and children, adults will get bitten more. If you are bigger in any way you are simply giving off more heat and a greater CO2 signal.”
This emission of heat intermingles with the chemical cues that our body gives off, as well as our skin microbiome.
“There are a range of different chemical cues that our bodies give off,” Heather says, “including several different ones that we know can play a very big role in mosquito attraction. Octenol, for example.” This is a compound that is formed through the breakdown of fatty acids in the blood which is expelled via our lungs as breath, or through the skin as body odour. It then follows that the more heat you emit, the more you may potentially sweat too, increasing your emissions.
“We also suspect that the skin microbiome, the composition of bacteria that live on your skin, probably plays a big role,” she adds. “This is not disease or dirtiness, but a natural part of people’s physiology.” Your unique microbiome make-up is affected by genes, diet, lifestyle or even personal products that you use, she says. However, “we’re not at the point yet where we can say one food or one soap is better or worse for mosquitoes. If we were, someone would be making a lot of money.”
The expert guide to protecting yourself
Annoyingly, we don’t yet know of any definitive ways we can make ourselves less attractive to mosquitoes – though it’s not for lack of trying.
“People have investigated so many different things,” Heather says. “There’s even one study where someone tried to see if drinking beer would affect it. Unfortunately, I think the researchers just got drunk and didn’t notice anything.”
Instead, Heather recommends sticking to repellents – and only the ones that are tried and true.
“There’s a lot of folk myths around things that repel that are not necessarily true, like if you eat lots of garlic you can keep the mosquitoes away. There is no clear evidence of that – it might just keep other people away.
“Most of the things that actually work you can already access, like Deet at a good chemist. Some people don’t like using it but I wear it if I don’t want to get malaria in Africa,” she adds. This includes brands like Jungle Formula and own brand versions from companies like Boots.
Citronella candles can also play a role, as can wearing protective clothing.
The key thing is to understand what kind of mosquitoes you might be dealing with, which will change depending on where you are.
“Mosquitoes have very specific daily rhythms. The types of mosquitoes that spread malaria in Africa, for example, bite primarily at night during sleeping hours and inside houses. That is why bed nets work.
“But in contrast, there are other mosquitoes that might not necessarily be carrying a disease which we call nuisance biters – they’ll attack you and bother you during the day.
“There’s another group that will specifically bite around dawn and sunset. Hard to say why, might be because it’s cool enough, might be to do with us mating. There are certainly a lot of these in Europe.”
The best thing to do is to ensure you’re protected at those times and that you understand the risks of where you’re visiting.
We all get bitten – it’s our reactions that vary
Finally, Heather has an additional caution for all those who think they tasty to mosquitoes.
“One thing to add is that the people who think they get bitten the most often might not actually be the ones bitten the most often, they might just be the ones more likely to mount an allergic response. Two people might go out and get the same number of bites but only one will have lumpy bumps and itches. That person will know they’ve been bitten and know to wear repellent and take care, while the other might think they are off the hook.
“That is a mistake! When I was living in Kenya for the first time I went weeks without getting tested for malaria because I was sure I hadn’t been bitten by a mosquito. But I had been, I just didn’t notice. You should always assume you might be bitten and always take sensible bite protection.”