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The mosquito season is finally ending in most of the US and yes, it IS true that mosquitoes like to bite some of us more than others. What causes us to itch, anyway?

Corey Binns writes in LiveScience.com that we have special nerves that send us those prickly feelings. While some nerve fibers focus on deliver pain sensations and touch, others are dedicated to making us itch. Histamine is the culprit. This is a protein that is released during an allergic reaction which tells our special itch nerves to send signals to the spinal cord, where they are transmitted to the brain. Antihistamines work by interrupting these signals.
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One way to do it is to move to a third-world country. But how can we be happier while staying right where we are?

Psychologist Michael Frisch has discovered that As much as 50% of your happiness is genetic, so it’s inherited from your parents. What that means is that we inherit or basic serotonin level. Serotonin is our “happiness hormone” and can be elevated by meditation, certain foods and by sex.

The other 50% of our happiness is made up of 16 specific areas, ranging from health to goals to relationships. For many people, their spiritual life is vital to their happiness and fulfillment, probably because having faith allows people to be optimistic. Helping others is another key, and so are and strong, rewarding relationships with loved ones.
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New research measured secondhand tobacco smoke in cars and found pollution levels that are hazardous to children?and to you. Two years ago, we reported that, contrary to popular opinion, smoking can MAKE you fat. Now it’s been discovered that People who are both very obese and who smoke increase their risk of death by 3.5 to 5 times. We also know that second hand smoke kills?and that includes the smoke inside the automobiles of people who smoke.
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The feisty hummingbird was the ancient Aztec god of war, and maybe it still is today, since so many modern warplanes have been modeled on them. Like high-tech fighter jets, hummingbirds use so much food that they need to refuel in mid-flight, and the engineer who invented the helicopter was inspired by the amazing way in which hummingbird wings work.

Jeanna Bryner writes in LiveScience.com that hummingbirds can refuel in mid-flight, and they NEED to, because their intricate maneuvers use so much energy that they’re out of fuel from the nectar they consume after just a few minutes of flying. Hummingbirds have the highest rate of energy expenditure of any warm-blooded animal, so they’re always on the edge of starvation, which may be what makes them so aggressive.
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