Your grandmother was right: Mosquitoes remember human smells, but also swats

Your grandmother’s insistence that you receive more bug bites because you are ‘sweeter’ may not be that far-fetched as a study claims that mosquitoes can rapidly learn and remember the smells of hosts. Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the US said dopamine is a key mediator of this process. Mosquitoes use this information and incorporate it with other stimuli to develop preferences for a particular vertebrate host species, and, within that population, certain individuals, they said. However, the study also proved that even if an individual…

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From Railway Mutton curry to Bedmi-aloo: When railway food was an affair to remember

What is your earliest memory of (good) train food? Mine is the hot thali that would be served to First Class passengers from the pantry, which you could visit to get warm milk, water or boil egg any time of the journey and often be rewarded with something scrumptious that the cooks (who were khandani bawarchi by the way) may have invented for the next meal. It could be a simple dal or a chicken curry. What made this slightly watered down version addictive were two things: One, the way…

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7 Tips You Must Remember to Order and Drink Whisky Like a Pro

This golden liquid is a favourite at bars. On-the-rocks, with chilled water or a splash of soda – everyone has their own preferences, but the art of drinking whisky can be tricky. On World Whisky Day which is celebrated every year on the third Saturday in the month of May (this year it falls on 20th May, 2017), we’ve got you some great tips to drink and enjoy whisky like a pro. Here are some of the first few things that every aspiring malthead should learn. 1. Know your whisky…

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Are You Sleep Deprived? You May Find It Hard to Remember Things

Every person spends one third of his or her life sleeping. Sleep, which is a daily function, is not simply a resting period for all systems of the body going into a passive state. This is the time when the body enters into an active renewal process. Now let’s see how the human body renews itself in sleep. Sleep is among the critical necessities of human life. Our body needs sleep as much as it needs water, oxygen and food. A refreshing sleep is of vital importance in order to…

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