Bonus: Do mosquitos care about blood-type? (and other questions)
Hey. I'm Melissa.
Jam:I'm Jam.
Melissa:And I'm a chemist.
Jam:And I'm not.
Melissa:And welcome to chemistry for your life.
Jam:The podcast helps to understand the chemistry Love your everyday life. Bonus edition.
Melissa:Bonus edition. Yay. I love bonuses. Okay. Well, the first bonus I wanna talk about is My merch finally came.
Melissa:Everyone else in our town got their merch 2 days before me, But it finally came, and my sweater is so soft and comfy. I got it out of the mailbox right as I was leaving to drive to my sister's house, and I just brought it with me I didn't wanna go back in the it arrived as I was about to drive away.
Jam:Oh, that's perfect. That's awesome. Yes.
Melissa:So I'm very, very excited about it, and I want everyone to post their pictures of merch because I'm really excited to see what everyone got and how it looks and how where it is in the world. I'm really excited.
Jam:Yes. Please do that, and, we've been really just thankful for the amount of support we've gotten through you guys. BuyMerk has been really helpful for us. It's actually made a dent in the expenses that we do have to produce the podcast, which has been obviously the point of doing it. But super cool to see you guys Have the merch.
Jam:Give us feedback on the things you like about it for future merch runs that we may do. And, yeah, let us see how good you guys look in some Chemistry For Your Life merch.
Melissa:Yeah. We're really excited to see you guys are also invested in keeping the show going and helping us create it and, You know, wear our cute logo shirts all over is just really exciting and encouraging, so thanks so much for y'all's excitement. And I've had a few questions of people who missed the window, but don't worry. We're going to, at least at Christmas Time or just before the holiday season, open up a new store so that we can get the logo stuff, and we also have a few ideas for other designs that we're gonna put as well.
Jam:Yeah. So be looking for that. And sorry guys for for you guys that missed the window. That was definitely not our intention. We had to obviously set parameters to it.
Jam:And the longer it is, the longer it meant the people who bought stuff at the beginning don't get it until the window's over. So I didn't want it to be, like, 2 month long window, and then someone who ordered it doesn't get it for 2 months. So
Melissa:Right.
Jam:They'll be looking for next time.
Melissa:Okay. Well, are you ready to jump into some questions?
Jam:Let's do it. Okay. Number 1, first question is from Abby h. I bought these little stickers. They're supposed to be repellent for my son when we're outside.
Jam:They're called jolly patches. For all I know, they could be worse than just putting DEET on a baby, but but made me feel better that they just stick on his clothes instead.
Melissa:Well, Abby, I looked into it, and they're made of citronella oil and some lavender oil. That's what they have on the stickers. So those are naturally repellent. So they probably do something, but they're not very long lasting and they're not full coverage. So they're probably not as effective as a topical application in terms of keeping mosquitoes off a baby, but I'm also not sure
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:What's safe for a baby? 1 paper I read just said that the problem with these is they don't give good coverage. They just don't offer a lot of coverage. And the only thing that seemed to even come close was an ankle anklet, Like an ankle bracelet, it was treated with deet. That was the closest, that gave the most coverage and actually kept mosquitoes away.
Melissa:Probably does something, but it probably doesn't do it for very long, and it probably isn't full coverage for
Jam:him. Mhmm.
Melissa:So maybe there's a topical application that's Safer or more full coverage with those same oils in it, but I don't a 100% know. I'm sure you can Look into some of those options with your pediatrician, maybe.
Jam:Interesting. They hadn't heard of those. Okay. This next question is also from Abby h. He said, I also looked into those electric ones that protect a whole area, but I didn't feel great about them because I figured you're breathing this stuff.
Jam:Are they any better?
Melissa:So I looked into those, and it depends on the kind. There are a lot of different kinds of spatial repellents.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:They can use a whole range of active ingredients. So if I were you, I would look into what the active ingredient is and then look up the safety of that in the air, Whether it's nontoxic or toxic. We use citronella candles, which seem to do a little bit. But, again, spatial repellents are just Hard to do because they don't give the same coverage as something on your skin.
Jam:When she says electric ish, you mean, like, it like, schedule sprays something in the air? What what does she mean by that?
Melissa:There are a lot of different kinds. So 1, I looked into just slowly burned oil, or the oil was treated with something. Like, there's citronella oil in Whatever the fuel was for the candle or Mhmm. Those tiki torches, I think, actually seem to work pretty well, but I can't remember what they burn in them that does it. So There's just a lot of different methods.
Melissa:They some have electric heating element, some are fire, so it just kinda depends.
Jam:That's what we've used in the past, those tiki torches. I should look into what active ingredient is in those.
Melissa:Just check what you're breathing in.
Jam:Yeah. Eggs. They smell pretty good, though.
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:Okay. So this next question is from a lot of people. Does blood type impact how often mosquitoes land on you? And I think we, like, just briefly touched on it Talking about the fact that people asked that in the episode, but we didn't really address that exact question.
Melissa:Well and the reason I didn't address it is because I Couldn't find any peer reviewed articles that answered it. So there was something in the Smithsonian Magazine, which seems trustworthy, and they had a link to a PubMed article, which is usually a peer reviewed journal article, and that link didn't lead anywhere. It was a dead end. And everything else I looked for to Find it, I couldn't find. Anything that confirmed, the Smithsonian said that type o blood is landed on more often, but I just couldn't find a paper.
Melissa:And maybe it's such Basic information is so long ago, and that's why. Mhmm. But I wasn't able to find anything that confirmed that clearly. The whole time I was looking for the episodes, and I looked again just last night before we recorded this episode, and I haven't found anything. So if you can find something On that, a peer reviewed journal article on that, you know, I'm not I'm not a biologist, so maybe there's another way to say type blood type or whatever that's more clear, But I could not find anything that confirmed this.
Melissa:So I can't say yes, but I also can't say no.
Jam:Got it. Interesting.
Melissa:It's a mystery. Hopefully, someone else someone out there with better Internet peer reviewed journal article skills can find it for me.
Jam:But there are other things that we that you did bring to our attention that do affect how often they land on us, so at least we know something.
Melissa:Mhmm. And
Jam:it's it's things that aren't blood type, at least so far. Right. Okay. So Harry b, wrote in he gave us some mosquito facts. And one of them is that the saliva the mosquitoes put into us That causes the reaction is to stop our blood clotting so that their proboscis, the little the little straw mouth thing, doesn't get stuck when they insert into us.
Melissa:Right. And I went and did some research on it, and that's true. In the saliva, there's some anti clot stuff in it that keeps the blood from clotting around their little straw that sucks the blood out
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:So that they can put it in and out easily. So that is That's true. That's really why it bothers us.
Jam:That's very interesting. I did not even think about that there might be a purpose to it, not just like Their saliva is what their saliva is. It's like it has a purpose.
Melissa:I mean, their saliva has a purpose to keep the blood from clotting, but also be something else in the saliva that's unrelated that causes us a reaction, but that is part of the purpose of them putting saliva into our bodies, And the saliva does cause the reaction. So
Jam:Dang. Interesting. Mhmm.
Melissa:And then Harry also mentioned That in some cases, the a virus will take over, A creature's brain and make them bite humans, so that's kinda like rabies. I don't I think rabies is a virus, but it has that. Some parasites can have that fact where they manipulate the behavior of the host. Mhmm. But I think in this species, the mosquitoes are Naturally inclined to bite other animals so that they can get blood, which gets nutrients to their eggs.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:And I think that the viruses are just taking advantage of that. Mhmm. I don't think that the virus I don't think that we know that the virus manipulates the behavior of the at all.
Jam:Right. Interesting.
Melissa:Wanted to touch on that, but it just happened. I just don't know that it happens here.
Jam:Right.
Melissa:And then also related to that, my sister, the biologist, Wrote in to say that the phrase, remember I said, we knew their behavior changed, but we didn't really know if it was because The c o two adapter or the c o two sensor was taken away, did that change their ability versus their desire? Oh, yeah. Words for that are physiological and behavioral. So behavioral changes, their behavior changes. Physiological change is a change in its functionality.
Melissa:So a physiological change can create a behavioral change. For example, we change c o two sensor, and then their behavior changes, but not necessarily is that why their behavior changes. Behavior changes from other reasons. So Mhmm.
Jam:Those
Melissa:are the fancy words. We explained the concepts, but I didn't use the fancy words. So I thought it might be nice for people to have those words, behavioral and physiological.
Jam:Right. Alright. That makes sense. Thank thank you.
Melissa:Some fun facts. Yeah. We got lots of good good write ins on this one.
Jam:This next question is from Nicole p, and she asks, how do you survive organic chemistry?
Melissa:Okay, Nicole. Well, I just wanna say thank you for your question because I love organic chemistry, and I think that everyone can love it if they have a good approach. So first of all, organic chemistry is like math in that you need to do practice problems. So people will sit in class and say, yeah. I understood why that happened.
Melissa:Makes sense. But then they can't recreate it. So you need to practice recreating it before you get to the test. The other thing is organic chemistry is not a memorization game. So people think they can memorize their way through organic chemistry, and you simply cannot do that.
Melissa:It just doesn't work. So I would encourage you to think about how the electrons are moving And the mechanisms behind what's happening, especially when you get in our book, it's chapter 6 and beyond. So once you start doing reactions and beyond, Really focus on those electrons. And I would say it starts off pretty easy usually with a review of general chemistry and naming concepts, and then it gets more complicated really fast. So don't lose your momentum in those 1st few weeks.
Melissa:Hang in there, And that will help too. But, also, if your teacher doesn't do this for you, I would encourage you to look up relevant applications of your organic chemistry to everyday life because that's gonna make it more interesting to you, then you're naturally gonna be more motivated to learn it. I think those are my big pieces of advice for organic chemistry. My small pieces of advice for all studying is you learn better if you do a little at a time. So I recommend you study some of organic chemistry every day rather than crunching it up into one day.
Melissa:So just a general tip.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:And if you do that, you interrupt your forgetting. So it just helps you with your recall. You interrupt the process of forgetting, and then it's harder to forget every time you do that. So that's my recommendations for organic chemistry. Also, get a lot of help.
Melissa:Don't sit there wasting time when you're having a hard time trying to figure it out on your own. Talk to your friends. Make a virtual study group. Call or email or Zoom call your professors, your TAs, your tutoring centers. There's tons of resources on campus to help you succeed.
Melissa:I highly, highly encourage you to take advantage of them.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:I love organic chemistry.
Jam:That was great. Those are great tips. And maybe, Nicole, you too could be A PhD candidate.
Melissa:Definitely. I believe that's definitely true.
Jam:This next question is from Melanie, and she asks, Are there any recommended media for a chemistry beginner student?
Melissa:Well, Melanie, when I was taking chemistry, there wasn't a ton of those, But I recommend Khan Academy. My students have had good success with that. And then, also, Leah Forsyth, is a pretty good one. But also seek out media that gives you applications from your general chemistry to What you're doing. So this is podcast is a good start.
Melissa:There's a lot of little videos online and stuff that will relate general chemistry back to why this matters in real life, and I highly recommend you seek some of those out because your interest is gonna make you more excited to study.
Jam:That makes sense. Okay. This last question is a fun one from Harry b. What is your favorite movie?
Melissa:Oh, man. I'm so bad at favorites.
Jam:Do you
Melissa:have a favorite movie off the top of your head?
Jam:I do, but because I studied film, that's kinda the main part of my major. I got asked it a lot. And so I have a list of favorite movies that I would say I can't rank them, but I just decided on 1 to be that answer every time. Even though I don't it I think it is kind of not really fair for let me try to pick 1 favorite, but I'll say my favorite movie. The the answer I give is the tree of life.
Melissa:Nice. Okay. I watched that one time, I think. What are the other movies on that list? Can you think of, like, 5?
Jam:Oh, yeah. I can do that. And then, Harry, if you're, like, building a long movie queue And you want more, suggestions from me, then then you can totally DM us. Okay. So we've got tree of life, tragic redemption, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Godfather, The Other One is Space Odyssey.
Jam:I think I've how many have I mentioned now?
Melissa:Don't know. The Godfather is interesting. I tried to watch that once when I was doing work in a lab, and I never really paid attention. So I don't I've wanted to watch that, but haven't for a long time.
Jam:Oh, yeah. That was really good. Lord of the rings and Birdman. That's probably 7 movies I just said.
Melissa:Lord of the rings. Interesting. I would think that's a little too mainstream for you.
Jam:I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, books and, movies.
Melissa:I don't know that I have a favorite movie.
Jam:What I like to say when I ask These kind of questions of people is, like so now this music or whatever. But it's just hard to pick a favorite. So I have to say, what is your favorite movie today? It can be different tomorrow. You're not you're not held to your answer.
Jam:But if you had to pick 1 today, what would it be?
Melissa:I usually do what are some of your favorites.
Jam:Oh, yeah.
Melissa:Okay. For today, I'll pick 1 for today. I just recently rewatched Pride and Prejudice. My friend, Ashley, and I Have been doing this thing during the pandemic where we'll just randomly be free. It's usually a Friday night.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:And I'll say, do you wanna watch this movie with me? Yeah. We start Netflix at the same time and text through the whole movie, and it's Really fun. It feels almost like we're together. And we were roommates, so we would randomly watch movies together a lot back then.
Melissa:So We watch Pride and Prejudice together, and it's the newest one with Keira Knightley, and I don't remember who mister Darcy is. And I
Jam:don't either. I haven't seen it, but usually I know a little bit about Maine movies.
Melissa:Well, it's just done really well. It I think it tells the story pretty well, but also there's these beautiful scenes of nature that are pretty incredible. And I think you would appreciate some of the Filmography jam because if there's 1 scene and it's at a party and Mhmm. It starts at 1 part of the party And the the camera never breaks, and it goes on for minutes of just going through this party and peep so much is going on. All this stuff is
Jam:opening. Oh, yeah.
Melissa:And it's very long and never has a break at all, and it's beautifully done. I I love the that there's another part where the, the protagonist, the main characters are Dancing, and they're in a room full of people, and then it gets really intense. And everyone else in the room disappears, and it's just them dancing. Nice. And it's Really beautiful.
Melissa:I just think that it's a beautiful movie Mhmm. And it tells a good story where you kinda have to learn to get over your Pride and your prejudices.
Jam:Nice. And that's why I call it Once upon a time in England.
Melissa:So that that is a really good movie that I think is probably my favorite today. Oh, and they have these beautiful statues. There's one where I don't know how they do this with statues, but it's a woman with a veil over her face.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:And you can see the veil and you can see the face, and I don't know how people do that? Oh, yeah. Dude It's just beautiful.
Jam:Seriously. Yeah. You you probably wouldn't like it for other reasons, but I would guess. But, the continuous take thing, the camera not breaking. Mhmm.
Jam:Birdman is almost entirely that. It's not there's a a part where it cuts on purpose, but the rest of the entire movie is continuous take, Which is nuts.
Melissa:Yeah. That is that is nuts. So maybe this one is outdated enough that it wouldn't be that Impressive to you, but at that time, I was very impressed.
Jam:It was impressive. I definitely think it's impressive.
Melissa:Okay. Yeah. Okay. Good. Good.
Melissa:Well, I think maybe we should trade movies, and I'll watch the godfather, and you can watch pride and prejudice, and we'll see how we feel about them.
Jam:That's a good trade. I feel like of the ones on my list that you haven't seen that one's when I think everyone should see. And I think if you actually do watch it and and pay attention, I think there's a lot to to enjoy about it and a lot to See that what that where that what the hype's about. You know?
Melissa:Alright. We let's check back in on our next q and q and r and see how we feel about watching One of the other's favorite movies.
Jam:Okay. You might have to remind me a little bit about Pride and Prejudice.
Melissa:Okay.
Jam:It's on Netflix, though, you said?
Melissa:It's on Netflix.
Jam:Okay. That helps. That helps.
Melissa:Yeah. Great. Okay. That's fun.
Jam:Good question, Harry.
Melissa:Good question. Okay. Well, I think that's it for this week in terms of questions, but I did wanna take a minute to thank Not only people who supported us through merch, but also we do have our. And that has been an awesome way for people to help support the show as well. And this week, we wanna give a shout out to Jeff Cee who gave on our So thanks, Jeff, so much for supporting us in that way.
Melissa:It means A lot to have our listeners invest in continuing the show. I know that this is something we all are working on together. I really that means a lot to me.
Jam:Yeah. That's a good way to put it.
Melissa:This episode of chemistry for your life was created by Melissa Colini and Jam Robinson, and we'd like to give a special thanks to Robinson who reviewed this episode.
